Obituaries

Larry Hutchinson was born on February 2, 1930 to Eugene and Linnet Gustin Hutchinson at White River, SD. He was raised on a ranch north of White River with his five siblings, along the Little White River.

Stephen Jennings Moreland was born to Robert Jennings and Elaine Anderson Moreland on November 8, 1951, in Gordon. Steve and his three younger sisters Sandra, Sybil, and Nancy were raised on the family ranch eight miles northeast of Merriman, where he grew to love the beauty of the Sandhills and the cowboy way of life.

Kenneth Rene Schaefer was born January 15, 1951 in Valentine to Clement Schaefer and Isabel (Canet) Schaefer. He passed from this life on Sept.

A free spirit was born on December 2, 1978 in Pierre, SD, and left this world on September 3, 2021. Jill Marie Fleming unexpectedly passed away in Tucson, AZ at the age of 42. With her roots in South Dakota she spent numerous years in Des Moines, IA; Solana Beach, CA and the last couple of years in Tucson. Jill was born Mavis (Kuper)

Christopher “Michael” Reifers son of Christopher and Amy Reifers was born March 20, 1999 in Valentine. Michael attended Valentine Public School and has always made Valentine home.

James Bennett Johnson was born May 9, 1936 in Arnold to Arthur B. and Nedra (Brenneman) Johnson. He received his early formal education at Gandy and then graduated high school at Curtis Technical School in Curtis. After graduating from high school he attended Chadron State College.

Russell Dean Carr was born in Sacramento, CA, October 8, 1959, to James Dean and Hazel Hahn Carr. Russ’ dad was a member of the Air Force; he was an air traffic controller. The family was stationed in several places throughout the years. Russ lived in South Carolina, Germany for two years; first in a small town called Freising outside of Munich, and then in Berlin. The Carr family also lived in New Jersey where he and Mike caught snapping turtles at a pond (and got in trouble for that). Russ lived in Hemet, CA when his dad was based in Iceland. He then lived at Luke Airforce Base in Phoenix, AZ, and then moved back to Hemet, CA, where Russ graduated from high school. Russ loved boxing when he was young.

Dean Andrew Dunkel was born to George and Norma Gumb Dunkel on November 28, 1948, in Atkinson. Dean lived on a ranch near Crookston with his parents and two older sisters. He attended country school there until the eighth grade. At that time the family sold their ranch and moved to Valentine. Dean then attended Valentine High School and graduated from there in 1967. Shortly after graduation Dean was drafted into the Army. He spent the next two years in Germany.

Dianne Marie Reimers, 68, passed away August 30, 2021 in Augusta, KS. Dianne was born to Calvin and Donna (Daniel) Reimers on September 22, 1952 in Norfolk. She was baptized on October 12, 1952 and confirmed in 1967 at Zion Lutheran Church, Crookston.

Ben Burdick was born in a sod house on October 21, 1926 in the Purdum area. He was one of seven children born to Raymond and Vera (Athey) Burdick. Ben’s family worked hard and had little to show for it, as with many other people in that time. Ben lived through the Great Depression. His childhood involved walking or riding a horse five miles to school every day, where he learned the essential subjects of arithmetic, writing and reading. Following school, it was home to do the daily chores and help on the ranch.