Florence Uhre, 92, of Mitchell died Friday, Feb. 14 at Firesteel Healthcare Center, Mitchell.
Funeral services were 11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Trinity Lutheran Church, rural Letcher, with burial in Trinity Lutheran Cemetery. A prayer service was held Tuesday evening at Will Funeral Chapel, Mitchell.
Florence Uhre, daughter of Herman and Ellen (Leponiemi) Ahlstrand, was born Sept. 8, 1921 in Virginia, Minn. On Oct. 3, 1928, Florence and her brother, Walter, were adopted by Marie (Nelson) and Halver Boe of Elliott Township, Sanborn County. Florence’s eldest sibling, Mildred, was raised by a great-aunt in Duluth, Minn., her younger sister, Eileen, was adopted by a family in St. Paul, Minn., and baby sister, Elsie, was adopted by a family in Cincinnati, Ohio. The four sisters were eventually reunited and remained in contact.
On July 28, 1935 Florence was confirmed at Storla Lutheran Church. She attended Leet School in Elliot Township and graduated from Letcher High School in 1939. Florence obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from Northern State College, Aberdeen, in 1949.
On April 25, 1949 Florence was united in marriage to Martin S. Uhre at the Storla Lutheran Parsonage. To this union three daughters were born, Naomi, Ruth and Lois. Florence and Martin farmed in Elliott and Blendon townships and lived on the farm Martin was born on until 1975, when they moved west of Mitchell.
Florence taught in Leet, Storla, Christopher and Belford country schools and then 17 years in Mt. Vernon, until her retirement in 1986.
She was active in her church as a Sunday school teacher and superintendent, president of the South Dakota District Lutheran Daughters, Christian Women’s Association, a consulting coordinator of Friendship Bible Coffee and an instructor for Crossroad Bible Institute Prison Ministry. She became a member of the Mitchell Wesleyan Church in 2005.
In 2004 she moved to Wesley Acres Retirement Complex, in 2010 to Prairie Crossings Assisted Living and in 2011 to Firesteel Healthcare Center.
She is survived by her daughters, Naomi Uhre, Lexington, Neb., Ruth (Lloyd) Reif and Lois (Dave) Swenson all of Mitchell; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; a sister, Elsie; and a brother-in-law, Howard Ayer, Cincinnati.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Martin, in 1995; two sisters, Mildred and Eileen; her brother, Walter; and many other cherished family members and friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church, rural Letcher.