John Robert Roache, Jr., 82, of Huron, passed away Feb. 8, 2021, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.  

Funeral services were held Saturday, Feb. 13 at St. Wilfrid Catholic Church in Woonsocket.  Burial was in St. Wilfrid Cemetery with military honors by American Legion Post 29. Visitation was Friday, Feb. 12, at St. Wilfrid Catholic Church in Woonsocket followed by a family prayer service.

John Robert Roache, Jr., was born to John Roache, Sr., and Esther (Olson) Roache of Woonsocket on Jan. 13, 1939.  John married the love of his life, Patricia Parsons Roache in Whittier, Calif. on March 18, 1958.  John’s first position was managing the Standard Station in Woonsocket.  He enrolled in college, and after finishing his bachelors at Huron College, he entered his first career of teaching and coaching. He later received his master’s in administration from SDSU and moved into the position of principal at Wolsey High School.

John became the Sales Manager at Montgomery Agency shortly after joining the team in 1978 and remained in that position for 10 years before becoming a part owner. Owning his own business afforded him the opportunity to branch out, and he joined two other investors in the Gridiron Addition building development. They built several multi-family buildings with this project.  He also began buying real estate in and around the Huron area and owned and managed a rental agency for several years.   A few years ago, John sold his partnership in Montgomery Agency but continued to sell real estate as a broker. He also owned a cattle company and land with farming operations within the Woonsocket community. 

John’s life revolved around his wife, children, and grandchildren. He enjoyed telling his grandchildren all his life stories about the fun he had growing up on the farm in Woonsocket and the shenanigans of his younger years.  John opened his heart and home to all he met with a warm place to stay and a hot meal. Often as a surprise to his wife, John would bring home a stranger in need who would join the family for the evening meal and or a place to sleep. He always took care of the widow and her children and will be greatly missed by his family and community.

John is survived by his five children, Johnny Roache of Huron, Marty Roache of Huron, Sandra Gilchrist (Jon) of Rapid City, Suzanne Vandeberg (Curt Kempf, fiancé) of Huron, and Carrie Nipe (Chris) of Madison; 12 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren.  

He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia (Parsons) Roache; his father, John Roache Sr.; his mother, Esther (Olson) Roache; sister, Nadine Krull; his brother, Tim Roache; and son-in-law, Paul Vandeberg. 

Donald D. Snedeker, 83, of Woonsocket, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, at his home.

His funeral service will be on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 10:30 a.m. at Spirit of Faith Church in Woonsocket. Military honors will be provided by Huron Veteran’s Council. Burial will be at Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery in Huron. Visitation with the family present will be from 5-7 p.m. on Feb. 10 at Spirit of Faith Church in Woonsocket. A prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. at the church. Visit www.welterfuneralhome.com.

Donald Dwight Snedeker was born Aug. 19, 1937, near Esmond to Corrie and Marian (Fennel) Snedeker. He joined his older brother Leo Roger and was later joined by a younger brother, Ronnie. Their family moved to a farm north of Forestburg, where he spent his early years attending county school and graduated from Forestburg High School in 1955.

Donnie served in the South Dakota National Guard during his high school years and, upon graduation, joined the U.S. Navy. His tour took him from the Great Lakes of Michigan to San Diego, Calif., Norman, Okla., and Okinawa, Japan. Donnie was honorably discharged in 1957. He returned home to South Dakota and his passion of farming and worked for several farmers.

On May 31, 1959, he married Shirelly Johannsen. They were blessed with three sons, Jeffrey, Mark and Todd. During these early years of marriage, he worked diligently to pursue his dream of purchasing their family farm. Along with working for area farmers, he also worked for Huron Ice Co., Northwestern Bell Telephone Co., and Armour’s & Co., where he worked from 1964-1982. He could also be found working at Bales C.C. and was a substitute mail carrier and, later, a full-time carrier in the Alpena area. Donnie enjoyed coaching a neighborhood softball team for a few summers. He also enjoyed almost any sport and played on the “Hinker Hay Moving” slow pitch team. He loved watching his boys and grandchildren as they took part in their sports, musical activities, and go-carting.

Donnie was known for his love of life, good sense of humor and kind heart. He was a hard-working farmer that enjoyed the outdoors. He looked forward to spring weather, new baby calves every year, checking his cattle and putting up hay. He even grew melons with Mark for several years.

Donnie was a member of the Spirit of Faith Church. He was also a member of the American Legion and ELK’s Lodge. Donnie loved oyster stew, homemade ice cream and pie. He enjoyed reading Louis L’Amour novels, watching old westerns, a good game of football, basketball or rodeo event, and playing cribbage or checkers. Donnie also enjoyed vacations to Cancun.

Donnie is survived by his wife of almost 62 years, Shirelly of Woonsocket; his three sons, Jeffrey, Mark (Lisa), and Todd (Robyn); 10 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; two brothers, Leo Roger of Derby, Kan., and Ron (Jacque) of Kirkland, Wash.; sister-in-law, Margie (Barney) Iverson of Kirkland, Wash.; his 102-year-old aunt Dorothy Snedeker of Carthage; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister-in-law, Lorraine Snedeker; and in-laws, Pete and Lucille Johannsen.

Garland Kenneth Schrank, 73, died on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, at Avera Queen of Peace Hospital after complications from COVID-19.

Funeral services were held Friday, Feb. 5, at New Home Lutheran Church in Mitchell.  Visitation with a prayer service was held Thursday, Feb. 4, at New Home Lutheran Church. Burial with Military Rites was at Graceland Cemetery.

Garland was born on Jan. 2, 1948, to Kenneth and Clara (Reicke) Schrank at their home in rural Davison County. He attended country/grade school in and around Davison County and graduated in 1966 from Fedora High School. After graduation, Garland enlisted in the armed services and completed basic training at Ft Leonardwood, Kan. In 1987, he retired from the military, having served almost 21 years and achieved the rank of Master Sergeant. On April 30, 1967, he was united in marriage with Audrey Janelle Scott at Glenview Church just North of Fedora.

The couple lived in and around Miner county until they settled for the remainder of their lives in and around Mitchell. Over his lifetime, Garland worked in the fields of farming, carpentry, and law enforcement, and at the time of his death, he was employed part-time by the Davison County Sheriff’s Office as a transport officer.

Garland and Janelle loved participating in all family functions, especially the activities of their grandchildren. They also enjoyed visiting with friends, dancing, hunting and fishing explorations, and garage sales. Garland also enjoyed scrapping. 

Garland is survived by his four children, Dr. Stacy (Melody) Schrank of Norman, Okla., Wade (Tonya) Schrank of Salem, Brandi (Jesse) Uithoven of Mitchell, and Ginger (Robbie) Faas of Fulton; four siblings, Steven (Norman) Schrank of Mitchell, Julie (Richard) Gustad of Platte, Curtis Schrank of Mitchell, and Dawn Miller of Aberdeen; two sisters-in-law, Dixie (Greg) Schmit of Sioux Falls and Susie Schrank of Fedora; a brother-in-law, Chuck Mentele of Letcher; eight grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and five step-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth and Clara Schrank; siblings, Larry Schrank, Harvey Schrank, Janice Mentele, Barbara Tietz, and Bryan Schrank; his in-laws, Audrey and Orvilla Scott; and numerous aunts and uncles.