Viorene McEldowney, 94, of Wessington Springs, passed away Monday, Dec. 31, 2018, at the Weskota Manor. 

Mass of Christian burial was held Saturday, Jan. 5, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Wessington Springs. Burial was in the St. Wilfrid Catholic Cemetery at Woonsocket. Visitation was held Friday, Jan. 4, at the church, with a scripture service and rosary.

Viorene was born June 24, 1924, in Jerauld County, to Nicholas and Anna (Welter) Wolf. She attended eight years at rural Steichen School in Blaine Township and graduated from Woonsocket High School in 1942. After high school, she went to Wessington Springs and worked at the ASCS office and Habicht & Habicht department store. It was at this time that she met Raymond Dean, of Miller. They married in April 1945 and had two daughters. Raymond was an elevator manager and bookkeeper, and they moved to Plankinton, then to Buffalo Lake, Minn., where he died in March 1953.

After his death, she and the girls moved back to Wessington Springs. She worked at Memorial Hospital in the offices of Drs. Dean and McManus. In 1955, she married Frank McEldowney, and they made their home at the farm west of town with his two children. To this union, seven more children were born.

They moved into Wessington Springs in 1973. Viorene worked for Coast-to-Coast Hardware store for 16 years, retiring in 1989. In December of 2012, she moved to Weskota Apartments. She had lived in Weskota Manor since May of 2018.

Viorene was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Altar Society and American Legion Auxiliary.

She is survived by her children, Diane (Bruce) Rutschke of Eagan, Minn., Nancy Erickson of Scappoose, Ore., Mary (Jim) Morrison of Sioux Falls, Cathy (Tim) Holzwarth of Wessington Springs, Janet (Roger) Carlson of Naperville, Ill., Teresa McEldowney of Aurora, Colo., Deb (Jim) Buck of Sommerset, Jim (Colleen) McEldowney of North Bend, Wash., Tom (Deb) McEldowney of Castlewood, Dennis (Sandy) McEldowney of Wessington Springs, and Pat (Irv) Lonneman of Watertown; 29 grandchildren; and 27 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husbands, Raymond and Frank; her parents; brother, Melvin; sister, Luella; brother-in-law, Bruce; son-in-law, Warren Erickson; and a grandson, Austin McEldowney.