Ruth Elaine Friese Simon, was born May 15, 1925, in Wolsey, SD. to Harold and Korea (Leonard) Friese.

Ruth was raised in Wolsey along with her brother, Duane Friese. She graduated from Wolsey High School and in 1947 she graduated from nursing school in Huron, SD. As a nurse, she met her future husband who was a patient in the Army Ward at Huron.

Ruth Elaine Friese was united in marriage to Glen Arthur Simon on June 8, 1947, in Huron, SD. They made their first home in Lead, SD. Later, they moved to the Bison and Meadow area. Eventually they purchased a ranch south of Timber Lake, SD.

To this union, four sons were born. Glen passed away in March 1969 of lung cancer. In 1971, her oldest son was killed in Indiana from a car crash. In the late summer of 1969, Elaine moved to Sturgis, SD, and worked as a County Health Nurse and eventually as a nurse at the Sturgis Community Nursing Home. She retired in 1992, and after selling her home moved to several locations to be closer to family. In 2008, she returned to the Black Hills, which she loved. She had a great passion for fishing, hiking, and camping throughout the hills. She enjoyed taking her grandchildren to great places and spending time with them in the outdoors.

Elaine passed away peacefully in Spearfish, SD, at age 91, surrounded by family on July 7, 2016.

She is survived by her sons, Gary (Ramona) Simon of Timber Lake, SD, Dick (Janelle) Simon of Elko, NV, and Brent (Laura) Simon of Sandy, OR; 10 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; and one brother, Duane Friese of Hot Springs, SD.

Elaine was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Glen; and son, Darrel Simon. Elaine will be laid to rest between her husband and son at the Bear Butte Cemetery in Sturgis, SD.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 9, 2016, at 2:00 p.m.at Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis. Interment will follow at Bear Butte cemetery.

A memorial has been established to LifeSpring Wesleyan Church in Sturgis.

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