Clara Wise, age 88, of Letcher, passed away on November 29th, 2020, at Avera Queen of Peace Hospital, Mitchell, S.D.  

Funeral services will be held on December 11, 2020 at Will Funeral Chapel at 9:30 AM in Mitchell, SD. Visitation will be one hour prior to the funeral service. Burial will be at the Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD.

Clara was born on November 19th, 1932 in Nassau, Minnesota to William and Clara (Redepenning) Maass.  She grew up in Nassau until her high school years when they moved to a farm outside of Cavour, SD.  She graduated from Cavour High School.  On March 15th, 1953, she married Kenneth Wise in Cavour, S.D. She worked at Don’s Locker in Cavour for many years and later worked part time at Ace Hardware in Huron. 

After the death of her husband in 2007, she moved to Letcher where she resided till her death. For many years they did a lot of hunting, fishing, and trapshooting.  She was well known for her famous burgers at the Gun Club. Upon moving to Letcher she enjoyed traveling and spending time with her family especially her great-grandkids.

Grateful for having shared her life are her daughters, Lori (Cal) Bratland and Melanie Ettswold all of Letcher; her grandchildren, Angie (Matt) Meier, Andy (Melissa) Ettswold, and Jerome (Angie) Evans all of Letcher, Jackie (Eddie) Flemming, Florence and Scott (Peggy) Bratland of Watertown; great-grandchildren, Ellie Evans, Parker and Wyatt Ettswold, and Maggie Meier all of Letcher, Shay Bratland of Vermillion, Summer Bratland of Watertown, Travis Kasuske of Aurora, Colo., Justin, Nate, and Dylan Larson all of Sioux Falls; foster daughter, Denise (Richard) Deaver of Sturgis; foster granddaughter, Julie Jenter of Sturgis; one sister, Marilyn Dollenbacher of Brookings; and many nieces and nephews and cousins. 

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ken Wise; parents, Bill and Clara Maass; in-laws, Ken and Anna Wise; two sisters, Lois and Margaret (Peggy); six brothers, William (Bill), Vinton (Barney), Albert, Loren (Bud), Charles (Chuck), and Walter (Butch); and son-in-law, Bus (Olen) Ettswold.

Masks are required for the service.

Lavetta Jane Kruger, 91, of Mitchell and formerly of Sibley, Iowa, died on Nov. 24, 2020, due to COVID-19 complications at Firesteel Health Care Center in Mitchell.  

A private graveside service will be held at the Holman Township Cemetery in Sibley, Iowa.  Basham Funeral Service in Woonsocket is in charge of the arrangements.

Lavetta was born on May 14, 1929, on a farm near Steen, Minn., to George and Lillian (Veenker) Jurrens. She spent most of her life in George, Iowa, Ellsworth, Minn., and Sibley, Iowa.

She worked for Weldon’s Creamery in Sibley for 21 years then at the Sibley Care Center for 15 years as a cook.  She relocated to Mitchell in 2005, to be closer to her daughter, where she worked as a housekeeper at Countryside Living until her retirement in 2010. 

She had been a member of First Baptist Church in Sibley, Iowa, before relocating to Mitchell.

Lavetta is survived by four children, Jerry (Lorree) Kruger of Minnesota, Barb (Rick) Petersen of Omaha, Neb., Randy (Merry) Kruger of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Lisa Roberts of Mitchell; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and one grandson.

Eileen Anna Schmit, 86, of Mitchell and formerly of Artesian, died Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, at the Madison Regional Hospital.  

Funeral services were Friday, Dec. 4, at First Lutheran Church in Mitchell. Visitation was on Thursday, Dec. 3, at Bittner Funeral Chapel. Burial was at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Artesian. Masks were required at the services, and a live stream of the funeral service was available at: http://mitchellfirstlutheran.org/live/.

Eileen Anna Spahn was born on July 13, 1934, in St. Louis to Harry and Irene Spahn. Eileen lost her father at the age of two. Her mother married Lester Noell, and they moved to Canton, Ill., before settling in Artesian. She worked in the family’s store, Noell’s Department Store, while going to school. She graduated from Artesian High School in 1952.  On Dec. 23, 1951, Eileen married Francis Schmit. The couple lived in the Artesian area while Francis worked for an area farmer before buying and settling on their farm south of Artesian. They raised their family and resided there until they bought their home in Mitchell in 1984. 

In her younger years, besides working at the store, she also worked for the Artesian Telephone Company. After raising her family, she worked as the Postmaster Relief for the Artesian Post Office for 20 years.  Eileen and Francis spent a lot of time with their family at the lake and enjoyed dancing and playing cards with friends.  She was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Artesian, involved in the First Lutheran Church of Mitchell, Women’s Circle, Town & Country Extension Club, Heartland Quilters Guild, Roadrunner Club, Red Hat Club, and Moose Lodge. Eileen enjoyed taking in many concerts, plays and events. She always loved traveling and spending time with her children and grandchildren.  Eileen moved to Countryside Living in 2019.

Grateful for having shared her life are her children, Allen (Lynette) of Kingwood, Texas, Kevin (Rebecca) of Sheridan, Wyo., Craig of Sheridan, Wyo., Terry (Chris) of Gillette, Wyo., Tim of Mitchell, and Robert (Brenda) of Artesian; 16 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, Wayne Weld of Wenatchee, Wash.; sister-in-law, Mabel Schmit of Winner; and many nieces and nephews. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband in 2004; infant children, David and Mary Ann; great-grandson, Tomas; sister, Nancy Weld; and brothers, Robert and Ronald Noell.