Garry Tollefson, 76, of Mt. Vernon, died Sunday, May 8, 2016, at Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls.
Funeral services were Friday, May 13, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mitchell. Burial was at Mt. Vernon Cemetery in Mt. Vernon. Visitation was Thursday, May 12, at the Bittner Funeral Chapel in Mitchell.
Garry Richard Tollefson was born Feb. 3, 1940, near Cuthbert in Sanborn County, to Lyle Richard and Dorene (Adams) Tollefson. He attended school in Mt. Vernon. He loved working for his uncle, Herbert Tollefson, on the farm near Woonsocket and hunting with his uncle, LaVerne Tollefson.
At the young age of 15, he met the love of his life, Sara (Sally) Morgan, marrying three years later on Sept. 20, 1958.
As a young man, Garry worked as an automobile mechanic for Marlyn Gjesdal in Mt. Vernon. He spent five years in the sport of boxing with Mitchell UCT and went to work for Montgomery Ward in Mitchell as a tire shop foreman before he accepted a position at Hormel Meats Company. When the Mitchell Hormel plant closed, Garry went to work at Mt. Vernon School, as a maintenance man and school bus driver.
He served the community of Mt. Vernon as the Justice of Peace and 41 years as a volunteer fireman. He was a South Dakota National Guardsman, serving in the 153rd Engineering Battalion. He was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1973, serving faithfully for 43 years.
Garry is survived by his wife, Sara (Sally); four sons, Roger (Pamela) of Gering, Neb., Richard (Teresa) of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Daniel of Sturgis, Mich., and Matthew (Diedre) of Syracuse, N.Y.; two daughters, Janette (Dan) Block of Sioux Falls, and Nancy (Don) Gehrke of Luverne, Minn.; three brothers, Darrell (DeeDee) of Aberdeen, Herbert L. of Luverne, Minn., and Eugene (Kathy) of Parkston; two sisters, Gloria Ann (Mel) Tuffs of Mt. Vernon, and Dorene (Richard) Polz of Jackson, Minn.; one sister-in-law, Mary Lou Tollefson of Mitchell; eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Randall; one sister, Martha Hanson; and one brother-in-law, James C. Hanson.
Messages of condolences my be shared at www.bittnerfuneralchapel.com

    Nels “Chris” Andrew Christensen, 65, of Harrisburg, passed away May 12, 2016, at Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls.
The funeral service was Monday, May 16, at The Ransom Church in Sioux Falls with Pastor Cody Tupps officiating. Funeral arrangements were with Heritage Funeral Home of Sioux Falls.
Nels Andrew Christensen was born April 20, 1951, to Paul and Leila Christensen. He grew up in Wessington Springs, where he graduated from high school in 1969.  He attended SDSU, and then joined the SD National Army National Guard. On June 9, 1972, he participated in the emergency duty for the Rapid City Flood. In August 1972, he went to work for the SD Highway Patrol, where he became South Dakota’s youngest State Trooper and had assignments in Corsica, Aberdeen and Deadwood. Nels commanded several Army engineer units in Woonsocket, Rapid City, Deadwood, Sturgis, Belle Fourche, Spearfish and Custer, obtaining the rank of Captain.
On April 20, 1977, he married Debra Kay Meyer in Sturgis. They made their home in Deadwood and Custer, where Nels became a deputy at the Custer County Sheriff’s Department. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in criminal justice in December 1995.
In 1995, the Christensen family moved to Beresford, where he worked for the Beresford Police Department and earned his master’s in public administration from USD.   Following retirement from law enforcement, he worked as a computer programmer for Gateway Computers, and in January of 2004, Nels was hired as the city administrator of Mobridge.
Nels’ life loves included his family and friends, the yearly Christensen family pheasant hunts, reading a great Western novel, watching old Western movies, The Denver Broncos, SDSU Jackrabbits and both Christian and country music.
He is survived by his wife, Deb Christensen of Harrisburg; a daughter, Kellie (Jason) Steinmetz of Bailey, Colo.; two sons; Cody (Mary) Christensen of Brookings, and Tyler Christensen of Santa Barbara, Calif; four grandchildren; his brothers, Kim Christensen of Wessington Springs, and Paul (Sandi) Christensen of Rapid City; sister-in-law, Margaret Christensen of Woonsocket; in-laws, Jim and Marlys Meyer; brother and sister-in-law, Bryce and Sandi Sigman of Sturgis; step-mother, Carol Christensen of Custer; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Nels was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Leila Christensen; and his brother, Hans Christensen.

    Garrett James Danburg, 41, died at Pikes Peak Hospice in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday, April 4, 2016 after a brave battle with cancer.
A Celebration of Life was held at the bunk house on his mother’s farm near Woonsocket on April 26.
Garrett was born on March 31, 1975, in Redlands, Calif., the third child of Jerry Danburg and Joyce (Larson) Stapleton. He received a master’s degree in accounting from Denver University in 1998. Prior to his death, he lived in Colorado Springs and worked as assistant service manager at Liberty Toyota.
Growing up he loved visiting his family in Miller and the Larson family farm in Woonsocket. A special treat was enjoying the harvest from the “Watermelon King’s” melon patch.
Garret was a nature lover and enjoyed skiing – both on water and snow – snowshoeing, hiking, house boating on Lake Powell and ATVing. He was an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan.
He is survived by his wife, Kristeen Danburg; a son, Seth Danburg; stepson, Michael Bley; his parents, Jerry and Barbara Danburg of Pueblo West, Colo., and Joyce and Fred Stapleton, Lake City, Colo.; sisters, Nicole (Forrest) Orswell, Fort Collins, Colo., and Kristine (Shep) Lowry, Highlands Ranch, Colo.; maternal grandmother, Lorraine Larson, Woonsocket; step-brothers, Tony Stapleton and Jay Larson; step-sister, Tina Buneta; numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.
The family has suggested donations be made to a support/educational fund that has been established on behalf of Garrett’s sons, Seth and Michael, at Wells Fargo Bank “In memory of Garrett Danburg”.