Obituaries

Mar 6, 2015

It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the passing of a great man, Silas C. Grinstead III of Sturgis. Silas was born October 20, 1946, in Mooresville, IN, the son of Silas Carl Grinstead, Jr., and Clara L. Grinstead. He moved to Lake Worth, FL, in 1969 where he worked as a General Contractor. Silas moved...

Mar 5, 2015

Ivan Shonley, 91, Sturgis, Died, Thursday March 5, 2015, at Sturgis Regional Hospital. Ivan was born November 7, 1923 at Hillside, SD near Mitchell, SD to Theodore and Lena Shonley. After 8th grade he worked for his father as a carpenter. In 1943 he joined the US Navy and participated in the Seabees. In 1946 he returned home to...

Mar 3, 2015

David Arthur Christensen, 71, Box Elder, SD, passed away March 3, 2015 at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Ft. Meade, SD.

David was born in Sioux Falls, SD, to Arthur Melvin and Evelyn Marquerite (Thompson) Christensen on January 24, 1944. He served in the US Army during Vietnam and is inurned at Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis,...

Mar 3, 2015

Alfred John Hertel, 88, passed away peacefully on March 3, 2015, in hospice care at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Ft. Meade. Alfred was born August 28, 1926, in McLaughlin, SD, to Fred M. and Anna Helen Louise (Zimmerman) Hertel. He was raised on the family farm west of McLaughlin, and attended school in McLaughlin. Alfred was drafted in...

Mar 3, 2015

Dixie Lee Wilson, 78, Sturgis, passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones on March 3, 2015, while in the care of the Lippold Hospice Suite at Sturgis Regional Hospital. She is survived by her husband, Jerry Wilson, and their two children, Tyler and Teresa Wilson. Dixie was one of three children born to Frances and Leander Seefeld on August...

Mar 3, 2015

1940 Census Name: Barbara Jones Temporarily Absent: Yes Age: 17 Estimated birth year: abt 1923 Gender: Female Race: White Birthplace: South Dakota Marital Status: Single Relation to Head of House: Daughter Home in 1940: Wells, Perkins, South Dakota Inferred Residence in 1935: Wells, Perkins, South Dakota Residence in 1935: Same House Sheet Number: 1A Occupation: Secretary N Y A...

Mar 2, 2015

Bruce William Foster died of lung cancer on March 2, 2015, at Hospice House in Rapid City. He was born December 12, 1938, to C.W. (Bill) Foster and Edna (Wullweber) Foster in Los Angeles, CA. He attended elementary schools in Sepulveda, CA, Huron, Cavour and Virgil, SD, and graduated from Virgil High School in 1956. In December of 1962,...

Mar 2, 2015

Dustin Lee Jutting, 28, passed into Heaven on Monday, March 2, 2015, as a result of a car accident. Dustin lived in Wright, WY, but Sturgis was his home. Dustin was born May 23, 1986, to parents Bob and Donna (Hemenway) Jutting. Dustin had a love for baseball, lawn mowers and small engine repair. Dustin loved to go to...

Mar 1, 2015

Parents: Elizabeth (Sander) and Ludwig Schmaltz at Drew, SD, on his parents homestead.

Siblings and their spouses: Tony and Lela Schmaltz, Joe Schmaltz (his life was claimed in a farming accident), Maggie and Fritz Nelson, Mary and Mike Fisher, Margaret and Adam Fritz, Barbara and Bill Wyde, Elizabeth and Pete Zacher, and Sister Mary Hilda Schmaltz.

Feb 28, 2015

Carol Davis Junek, 88, retired librarian, passed away on February 28, 2015, at Aspen Grove Assisted Living Center in Sturgis. In addition to her many years of library service, she will be remembered as a loving mother and grandmother who selflessly cared for others and quietly, yet persistently, managed her own care even as her health declined in the...

Feb 28, 2015

Marjorie E. Backhaus, 78, Vale, died Saturday, February 28, 2015, at Rapid City Regional Hospital Hospice House. Marjorie was born on a farm south of Rhame, ND, where she lived until the 6th grade when her family moved into Rhame. She graduated from Rhame High School in 1955. With the death of her father, the family moved to Billings,...

Feb 27, 2015

Sidney E. (Carlson) Acuff died March 3, 2015, in Rapid City, S.D.

She was born Sept. 12, 1930, in Hot Springs, S.D, to Carl and Hallie (Tond) Carlson. She came to California in 1953 and married John Acuff in 1955. She lived in El Dorado until 2014, when she returned to South Dakota.

Sidney loved...

Feb 27, 2015

Martin Andrew "Andy" Schaffner, 73, Spearfish and formerly of Sturgis, died Friday, February 27, 2015, at Garden Hills Assisted Living in Spearfish. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, March 3, 2015, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Sturgis. Inurnment will follow at the St. Aloysius Cemetery in Sturgis. Andy was born December 9, 1941,...

Feb 25, 2015

Flo, Florie June Ehrlick was born March 15, 1965, in Greeley, CO, to R. Joyce and Robert H. Ehrlick. She grew up in Greeley for ten years of her life; six years in Akron, CO, and briefly for 2 ½ years, Flo lived in various other areas of Colorado; then moved to Phoenix, AZ, for one year and Fort...

Feb 24, 2015

Lt. Col. Edwin H. Shearer II, Retired USAF, 79, Piedmont, SD, died February 24, 2015, at Sturgis Regional Senior Care.

He was born in Indiana to Edwin and Sue (Turner) Shearer on July 27, 1935. Ed is survived by wife, Kay Shearer; children, Dana Pierse, Ed Shearer III, Paula Hall, and Jon Shearer; half-sister, Linda Shearer-Fowler; stepchildren,...

Feb 23, 2015

Jeanne was born Jeanne Marilyn Mc Clure on September 23, 1924, in Aurora, IL, to Dr. Chauncy McClure and Doris Lillian Benson McClure. They later moved to Valley Springs, SD, where she graduated from high school. She went on to college, and later met and married Cecil A. Reed on May 19, 1946. Jeanne and Cecil had five children,...

Feb 21, 2015

Jess Ann Collier, 88 years passed away peacefully at her residence in Chino Valley, AZ with her family by her side, Feb. 21, 2015.

Parents: Roderick Cruickshank and Esther McGregor..

Siblings: sisters; J. and J., brother G. Cruickshank

Schooling: Sturgis High School graduating 3rd in her class in 1944

School activites:...

Feb 21, 2015

Vincent Anthony Hafner, age 53, of Spearfish, SD, died February 21, 2015, in Rochester, Minnesota, as a result of cancer. Vincent Hafner was born April 25, 1961, in Rapid City SD, the youngest of nine children born to Vernon and Marjorie (Thomson) Hafner. He grew up in Newell SD and graduated from Newell High School in 1979. While in...

Feb 21, 2015

Garnet Jean Green was born on November 21, 1930 to Gustav and Olina Grotrud in Yankton, SD. Garnet married Delmar Green on November 23, 1950. In 1968 they moved their family to AZ. She loved gardening and her flowers and plants flourished under her tender care. Garnet loved all living things and would refuse to even kill a spider....

Feb 21, 2015

Marion G. Fountain, 91, Sturgis, died February 21, 2015, at the Hospice house in Rapid City. Memorial services will be held Thursday, February 26, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. at Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis with Pastor Jenene Earl officiating. Inurnment will follow at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. Marion was born November 19, 1923, at Laurenburg, NC, to...