Obituaries

Edith Mae (Shelbourn) McCormick, was born March 9 1926 in Valentine and passed away October 19, 2021 at Community Pride Care Center in Battle Creek. Edith was the fourth of five children born to Walter and Mable (Pont) Shelbourn. Edith attended Kewanee grade school near her home and graduated from Valentine High School in 1943. For three years after that, she did secretarial work for various individuals and businesses around town. After World War II was over and soldiers returned, she met and later married Howard McCormick, on April 6, 1947. Prior to that, although living only 12 miles apart, did not really know each other! They moved to the Mc- Cormick ranch northeast of Sparks, where they resided until Howard’s failing health in 2002 necessitated them moving to Valentine. Electricity did not come to rural Keya Paha county until the early 1950’s, so you cooked on a wood burning stove, carried in water from an outside pumpjack to heat on the stove so you could wash cloths and bathe. They were fortunate to have a wind charger which did provide some electricity when the wind blew but otherwise kerosene lanterns were used to light the house after dark. They both loved dancing and while “courting”, and even after marriage, would attend dances at Hidden Paradise in Long Pine on Friday night and then the Cosmo Club in Valentine on Saturday. Edith was a great cook and loved to raise a garden. Of course, along with that went picking off potato bugs, tomato worms, and carrying in water and cow manure. In the fall, canning occupied much of her day as produce from the garden ripened. She raised cherry, apple and mulberry trees, wild plum, chokecherry, sand cherry, and raspberry bushes, rhubarb and pumpkins; not to mention store bought lemons, bananas, and pecans all from which she’d used to make bread, pie, jelly, and jam. In the past few years she passed her recipes on to her grandkids. Edith always got a couple hundred chickens in the spring which provided meat and eggs; so along with their own beef and pork didn’t require them to go to town very often.

Josephine Alice Klein died September 20, 2021 in the Avera Rosebud Country Care Center, Jo, or Gramma Jo as she was called by many, was from the Hidden Timber Area, SD, but with a Valentine address. Jo was born to Florence (MacDonald) and Herbert Gregg on February 18,1932 in room C of the Carter Hotel being run by her grandparents.

Warren "Keith" Stotts was born May 8, 1959, to Warren W and Vi Stotts in Martin SD. He was the third of five children. They lived in Cody during his childhood years where he worked on the family ranch and attended Cody-Kilgore Unified Schools. They later moved to Valentine where Keith attended and graduated from Valentine Rural High School. He attended school for diesel mechanic for one year.

Betty May Elliott came into this world in Yuma, CO, with her identical twin sister, Bess, on February 16, 1922. Betty would narrate the story that she had heard from her mother, Ethel Elliott, that people from all over Yuma would come to see the identical twins. She loved being a twin. Betty quietly departed from this world September 3, 2021 at the Elwood Care Center.

A Celebration of Life service for Carol McBride will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday October 23, 2021 at the Stuart Community Church in Stuart.

Dennis Duane Nelsen, 77, of Crete, passed away from complications of Parkinson’s Disease on Saturday, October 9, 2021. Born January 15, 1944, in St. Paul, to Earl and Carol Nelsen. He married Nancy Jasa on June 18, 1977. Dennis attended school at Valentine High School and Doane College (University). He was a standout athlete competing in football, basketball, and track in both high school and college.

Funeral service for Kim DeCoteau were held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, October 11, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church, Gillette, WY; Pastor Joe Tagliaferre officiating; interment to follow at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery. With open arms from her mom and sister, Kimberly Dawn DeCoteau, age 56, was welcomed home unexpectedly on October 4, 2021. Kim was born on January 28th, 1965 in Valentine the daughter of Frank Sr. and Betty (Sokol) Keller. They moved to Gillette in 1978. She attended Campbell County High School. On September 17, 1988, Kim married her soulmate and auction partner, Robert “Bob” DeCoteau. They were blessed with three children: Justin, Betsy, and Alexandra. She lived in Gillette until the death of her mother in 2002 when she decided the peaceful pines and lake was where she needed to be. Kim resided in Pine Haven until the time of her death. In the more recent years, after leaving the railroad, Kim decided to let her adventurous spirit break free and declared life was too short not to go out and explore. More often than not, she was accompanied by her husband, best friend and sister-in-law, Rose Picchi, and brother-in-law, Brad Picchi, on these adventures that would take them to Chicago, New York, Sturgis, and many other places. Other times, you would find Kim in Puerto Rico, where she found serenity and peace, on a motorcycle going through the hills enjoying the fresh air, or on a camping trip with family. Family was important to Kim and she was just as important, if not more so, to her family. She was considered the matriarch; the secret keeper, protector, warrior, caregiver, nurturer, best friend, stand-in mother. The one who kept everything and everyone together; a person who would do anything for anyone, including giving them a reality check or two when they needed it the most. However, with all of the hats she wore, she was most excited and proud to wear the hat of grandma. Whether it was watching a dance recital, football game, going on lunch dates that would include pedis and manis, attending Grandparent’s day, or staying home teaching the next generation how to bake, she made sure to be the best grandma she could be. She was just that. The void is deep in the hearts of her surviving loved ones: husband, Bob DeCoteau; her children: Justin (Chelsea) DeCoteau, Betsy (Wally) Symonds, Alexandra (Branden) Baker, and bonus child, Jeremy Wagner; her grandchildren: Kylee, Brayden, Ayden, Zayden, Lyrica, Paisleah, Abigail, and Saber; her father, Frank Keller, Sr.; brother, Frank Keller, Jr.; sister-in-law, Rose Picchi; brother-in-law, Brad Picchi; her nieces and nephews, including her second “children” Kristain (Mike) Schutt and Kalyn (Kayla) Fruits; and great-nieces and nephews, including Emily and Mathew Schutt, Kagen Kurtz, and Kwinn Fruits.

Gary Lee Smith 82, passed away on October 4, 2021. Gary was born March 18, 1939 in Maxwell.

Funeral services for Brenda K. Hamilton, age 36, of Valentine, were held Thursday, October 7, 2021, at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Valentine.

Larry Lee Sinn, age 85, passed away at home on August 15, 2021, surrounded by family following a recent cancer diagnosis. Larry was born on November 2, 1935, to Dewey and Emma Sinn in Alexandria.