Martha M. Sabo, 92, Buffalo, SD, died Friday, October 8, 2010 at the West River Health Services in Hettinger, ND.

Visitation will be noon until 5 p.m. on Monday at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis.

Funeral services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at the Buffalo Community REC Center with Pastor Henry Mohagen and Pastor Milton Douglas officiating. Burial follows at the Buffalo Cemetery.

Memorials have been established to the Slim Buttes Lutheran Church and the Buffalo Gospel Tabernacle.

Martha was born May 21, 1918 at the Erik Swenson farm near Haynes, ND, to Conrad and Anna C.V. (Eklof) Anderson. When she was two weeks old she was driven by covered wagon to the homestead of her parents.

She began school at Hoffman, MN, while staying with an aunt. The next two school terms were spent in country schools in Harding County. The next school years were spent in the Buffalo school. She graduated from high school in 1935 and attended Black Hills Teachers College the following term. She earned a First Grade Certificate entitling her to teach elementary school. She taught at Lone Tree, the Lei School for two terms, Mud Butte and the Dunn School, all in Harding County. She also attended summer school for two summers.

Martha married Julius Richard "Dick" Smith on October 6, 1940. They lived on several different ranches after the 1939-40' school term was finished. God gave them 12 children, eleven of whom grew to adulthood. Their first child, JoAnn Linnea, died after cancer surgery in 1945. At that time they were living on the Joe Coffman place, now owned by Dave Penn. From there they moved to the Leines place north east of Buffalo.

They leased the former Jake Anderson place south east of Buffalo, which they eventually purchased. Their children attended a country school for several years until they purchased the former Al Dean house in Buffalo where Martha stayed with the children during the school term.

Faith in an omnipotent God formed an important segment of Martha's life. Churches attended were Grand River Lutheran where she was confirmed in 1934, and the Gospel Tabernacle and the Slim Buttes AFLC congregation at Reva. She taught Adult Sunday School Class several years.

Dick died May 1, 1977. After his death she cared for four elderly people.

On November 6, 1980 she married Ivan Sabo and spent 8 happy years in his ranch home. Ivan died January 26, 1989 leaving her alone in that home near Reva. She moved to Buffalo in 1998 and lived there until her death.

Survivors include her sons; Richard (Marie) Smith, Redig, Conrad (Kaye) Smith, Ludlow, Ken (Carol) Smith, Dave (Paula) Smith, Fred (Karen) Smith, and Ed Smith, all of Buffalo; daughters, Carol (Wes) Schalesky, Newell, Margaretta Ladson, Belle Fourche, Venoy (Willie) Tenold, Reva, Evie (Dan) Flees, Augusta, KS; cousins, Linnea Forthun, Hettinger, ND, Walter and Gus Eklof, Minneapolis, MN; also 33 grandchildren, 63 great grandchildren and 5 great great grandchildren; two nieces, Margie (Tom) Olson, Joelen (Jerry) Knutson; two nephews, Jim (Shirley) Smith, Darrell (Kathy) Smith.

She was preceded in death by her daughter, JoAnn; parents, both husbands, one brother, Carl Anderson, one great grandson, Tyrel Brengle, one grandson in law, Chris Collins, one son George Smith and one great granddaughter, Stefawni Schalesky and one son in law, Gene Ladson, one nephew, Don Smith.

Some of her greatest joys were visiting with friends and family, spending time with grandkids, great grandkids and great great grandkids, reading the Bible while her eyesight was still good, her four p.m. visit with her good friend, Tyyne, having coffee with her kids when they showed up, and talking about things the way they used to be.