Mahlon Pollard, 3, of Letcher, passed away Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls. 

Funeral services were held Tuesday, March 21, at First United Methodist Church in Mitchell. Burial was in Mt. Vernon Cemetery in Mt. Vernon. Visitation was Monday, March 20, at the Bittner Funeral Chapel in Mitchell, with a prayer service.

Mahlon Daniel Pollard was born July 1, 2019, at Avera St. Benedict Hospital in Parkston, to Dustin and Ashley Pollard. He spent his life in Letcher with his parents and three brothers, Ayden Baker, Damon Pollard, and Kayson Pollard.

Mahlon, also known as May May, was super happy, energetic, loving, always on the move, a baby shark fanatic, and an outdoor-loving child who loved to spend time playing with his brothers.

In November 2022, Mahlon was diagnosed with Level 3 autism. He was nonverbal but learned ways to tell you what he wanted or didn’t want. Something he always wanted was baby shark. You could always find him jumping and laughing watching anything baby shark.

He is survived by his parents, Dustin and Ashley Pollard; his three brothers, Ayden, Damon, and Kayson; grandparents, Rachel and Brendon Herlyn, Scottie and Valerie Kotilinek, Kimberly and Jeff Vermeulen, and Daniel and Tabbitha Pollard; great-grandmas, Twila Kotilinek and Helen Pollard; and many uncles, aunts, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his twin cousins, Rhett and Jasper Pollard; great-grandpa, John Pollard; great-grandpa, Richard Kotilinek; great-grandparents, Arnold and Karen Westlake; great-grandparents, Bonnie and James Tatum; and great-uncles Jimmy Pollard and Mahlon Westlake.