Obituaries

Milton Donald Brown

Published by admin on Thu, 12/12/2019 - 11:21am

Milton Donald “Don” Brown, the son of William J. and Edene S. (Olson) Brown, was born Oct. 12, 1945, in Decatur, Neb. 

Don and family lived in Nebraska and Missouri before moving to the Elliott, Iowa area, where he spent most of his youth. 

Dorothy Hirtle

Published by admin on Thu, 12/12/2019 - 9:13am
Dorothy Lee Hirtle was born March 1, 1942, in Deadwood, S.D., to Bertram and Margaret Davis. 
She was a loving wife, sister, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and a kind and caring friend.  She touched and positively influenced many lives.  She taught much and  enjoyed life.
Dorothy, of Custer, S.D., died Nov. 28, 2019, at Rapid City (S.D.) Regional Hospital. She was 77.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard S. Hirtle.

Ronald Lane

Published by admin on Thu, 12/12/2019 - 9:12am
Ronald Willis Lane was everything to those who knew him. The perfect dad, husband, grandpa, mentor and man of service to others. Ron could build or fix anything from houses and cars to airplanes and helicopters. He always stood for doing what was right and was the most selfless person you could ever meet.
Ron retired from the Marine Corps. He loved his country and believed in a life of service. He was active duty for 22 years followed by four years in the reserves.

John Evans

Published by admin on Thu, 12/12/2019 - 9:12am
John L. Evans was born June 15, 1933, in Miller, S.D., to Albert and Precious (Almond) Evans. 
John proudly served in the U.S. Army until his honorable discharge in 1958.  John was the chief of Custer (S.D.) Police Department and then worked with the Custer County Sheriff’s Office. He retired after 33 years with the City of Custer. 
John died Dec. 3, 2019, at his residence in Custer. He was 86.

Deidre Bainbridge

Published by admin on Thu, 12/05/2019 - 8:59am
Deidre Jean Bainbridge was born Jan. 28, 1954, in Ukiah Calif., to Lawrence “Roy” Bainbridge and Audrey (Mello) Bainbridge.
Raised in Ukiah, Deidre was the eldest of her siblings, Al and Jessica, and a fifth generation Californian. She received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California at Berkley and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California at Davis. Upon completion of law school, Deidre took a short hiatus to travel Europe which would prove to be the beginning of her fascination for world travel. 

Debra Jo Wedlund

Published by admin on Thu, 11/21/2019 - 3:03pm

Debra Jo Wedlund, 58, died Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Rapid City (S.D.) Regional Hospital.

She was born April 10, 1961, in Eau Claire, Wis., to David and Twyla (Kohn) Vaningan.

Wedlund grew up in Eau Claire and graduated from Memorial High School in 1979. She moved to Hill City, S.D., in 1989 and worked at Krull’s Market for over 20 years managing the bakery/deli.

Lila Lytle

Published by admin on Thu, 11/21/2019 - 9:31am
Lila (Burleson) (McClure) Lytle was born Jan. 28, 1926, in Vivian, S.D., to Myron and Grace (McLaughlin) Burleson, the 10th of 12 children born to that union. She had five sisters and six brothers. 
Lila grew up in the Custer, S.D., area. She graduated from Custer High School in 1945.
She married Clarence (Johnny) McClure in 1955.  Lila and Johnny ran the Rushmore Café in Hill City from 1958-70. Johnny died in 1969.

Ronald Larson

Published by admin on Thu, 11/14/2019 - 8:55am
Ronald Ray Larson was born June 14, 1957, in Hot Springs, S.D., the first of five children born to Melvin Charles Larson and Jeanette Carol (Raver) Larson.  He grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota and developed a love for the outdoors, hunting and fishing.
He graduated from Sturgis (S.D.) Brown High School in 1975. After graduation he worked for the railroad. He was very good with a hammer, working various construction jobs.  

Bonnie McNeil

Published by admin on Thu, 11/14/2019 - 8:55am
Bonnie Virginia (Rowe) McNeil was born Dec. 26, 1924 in Rapid City, S.D., to C. Merle and Ealsa Rowe.
Bonnie loved her family and her life as a military wife. She received her ABA from Cottey College, her bachelor of arts from Yankton College and her masters in theater from the University of Wisconsin.  
She married Robert James McNeil  June 12, 1947 after his graduation from West Point and traveled the world with him until their retirement in Custer 27 years later.    

Ronald French

Published by admin on Thu, 11/07/2019 - 9:14am
Ronald  Howard French was born in Custer, S.D.,  Feb. 14, 1944, to Beulah and Howard French.  He graduated from Edgemont (S.D.) High School in 1963.  
Football was a big part of Ron’s life in high school and college.  After graduating from Northern State College in Aberdeen, S.D., he started his teaching career at Lake Andes, S.D.