Rose Marie (Pickles) Keffeler Van Sickel was born on August 28th, 1930, to John and Mary (Grubl) Keffeler. She grew up on a farm/ranch on the Alkali Divide near Sturgis SD.

Rose Marie married Kenneth Van Sickel on January 6th, 1951. Unable to have children of their own, she spent a lot of time taking care of their nieces / nephews and later, their children and grandchildren. Spending time with Aunt Pickles brings a smile to lots of family members.

A chance conversation with Dr. Massa brought an unexpected gift in the form of an adopted daughter Mishele. The story goes like this: They told Dr. Massa that if he heard of any babies that needed adopted to think of them since they were ‘older’. A few days later at a family dinner Dr. Massa listened to his future son-in-law (a new lawyer and his first case) lament about having a baby that will be born soon that needed a home and it had to be a Catholic home. They brought Mishele home a day after her birth and formally adopted her in August of the same year after months of worrying about the birth mom changing her mind.

Pickles lived in the house she shared with Kenny for approximately 60 years. After a short stint living with Mishele and Monte on the flat side of SD, she moved into Aspen Grove in Sturgis. The day she moved in, someone saw her and said ‘Pickles’. That made the transition much easier and lifted Mishele’s spirits.

She is preceded in death by her parents, all but one of her siblings, her husband Kenny in 1987, and their daughter Mishele in 2024. She will be laid to rest next to Kenny and Mishele.

She is survived by her brother Murrin Keffeler, son-in-law Monte Tisland, granddaughter Lyndsey Messmer, step-grandson Michael (Chloe) Tisland, step-granddaughter Ashlie (Kelsey) Musser, two step-great grandsons (and another two on the way), and numerous nieces/nephews and their families.