Rose Marie (DeNeve) Wendell, 82, passed away July 6, 2016, at her home in Custer.
Mass of Christian Burial was held Monday, July 11 at St. John the Baptist Church in Custer with interment at the Custer Cemetery. A vigil was held Sunday, July 10 at the Church.
Rose was born in Mitchell on Sept. 19, 1933, to Rose Anna (Poitras) and August DeNeve. The family moved frequently, with Rose attending elementary schools in Molin, Ill., Letcher and Woonsocket. She attended high school in Artesian.
On Feb. 3, 1951, she married Lyle Andrew Wendell, and the couple purchased the farm of Dan and Verna Wendell. Rose was active in the community, 4-H and church. In 1972, she became an office manager for a political campaign office, and then worked as a bookkeeper at a jewelry store in Mitchell.
The family left the farm in 1973 and moved to Pierre, when Lyle was appointed State Secretary of Revenue. Rose earned her real estate brokers license in 1977, and sold real estate and did book work for Lyle’s Landmark Appraisal business. She was president of the Board of Realtors and Toastmistress Club, and was Executive Director of Easter Seals until 1996.
The couple moved to Custer and opened Landmark Real Estate, a Century 21 and a gift shop, Gallery West. The businesses were sold in 2003. Rose was involved in Zonta, Custer Lion’s Club, Meals on Wheels and was commissioned as a Catholic Lay Minister in 2015.
Rose is survived by her brother, Walter DeNeve of Custer; her children, Kate (Richard) Wendell Rieck of Rapid City, Daniel (Jane) Wendell of Boise, Idaho, Mark (Elena) Wendell of West Lake Village, Calif., Jane Canaday of Juneau, Alaska, Ellen (Jacques) Lefebvre of Bermuda Dunes, Calif., Gregory (RoseAnn) Wendell of Pierre, Barbara (Marc) Wendell-Schechter of Sioux Falls, Gordon (Carmen) Wendell of Summerset, and Joel Wendell (fiance Leili Plasencia) of Corpus Christi, Texas; 24 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Lyle; daughter, Connie Denise; and granddaughter, Shanda Lynn.
Arrangements were in the care of Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Custer.