Robert William (Bob) Hoff

Robert William (Bob) Hoff, age 69 of Eckert, Colo., passed away peace­fully in his home in the presence of his family ear­ly in the morning of March 7 after a brief battle with lung cancer.

Bob was born July 1, 1942 in Hendricks to Jo­seph and Esther (Wilk­ing) Hoff. He was baptized and confirmed at Calvary Lutheran Church in Hen­dricks and graduated from Hendricks High School in 1960. He then attended the Minneapolis School of Business. He married Judith Ann Christensen in 1963 and had three chil­dren. In 1963 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an electrician’s mate, where he served inVietnamon the U.S.S. St. Paul. He re­ceived the Good Conduct Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star, National Defense Service Medal and was honorably discharged as an E-5 in 1967. He went on to pur­sue a career as a master electrician, beginning at Goos Electric inTyler. He purchased that business, which he ran and owned successfully until 1983, at which point he moved his family to Colorado. He worked for a number of commercial electrical companies, finally settling in with Casey Industrial, where he worked through­out the United States and abroad. He retired from Casey in 2008 and moved to Eckert to live with his son and family, where he had the privilege of help­ing to raise his young­est granddaughter, Ava. Throughout his life, Bob’s greatest joy was spending time with family. His favor­ite hobby was woodwork­ing and he was a member of the Grand Valley Wood­turners. Other hobbies included riding horses, camping and fishing. He is survived by his wife Judith of Russell; daughters Shie­la (Joel) Zuehlke of Fair­mont and Jennifer (Corey) Evans of Balaton; son Jo­seph (Sarah) Hoff; grand­children Shaun, Madden, Isabella, Abigail and Elijah Zuehlke, Colin, Derek and Colton Evans and Ava Hoff; brother Richard (Wanice) Hoff, brother-in-law Au­gust Hamer, sister Donna (Eldon) Thurow, sister Joan (Burt) Pederson and many nieces, nephews and friends.

He was preceded in death by grandson Ben­jamin Joel Zuehlke, his parents Joseph and Es­ter, sister Darlene Hamer, brother-in-law Herbert Hamer, Sr., nephews Ed­win Hamer, Joel Hamer and Timothy Hamer.

In lieu of flowers, me­morial donations can be made to the American Cancer Society. The family held a memorial service inEckert,Colo.at the All Saints Lutheran Church on March 10. There will be a future prayer service at Christ Lutheran Church with interment of ashes at Calvary Cemetery in Hen­dricks in June.

Blessed be his memory.

Richard “Dick” Kontz,

Funeral services for Richard “Dick” Kontz, age 78 of Marshall, were at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20 at Wesley United Meth­odist Church in Marshall. Visitation was Monday, 4-8 p.m., with a prayer service at 7 p.m. at Living Word Lutheran Church in Mar­shall. Visitation continued from 10-11 a.m. Tuesday at Wesley United Method­ist Church. Interment fol­lowed the service at the Marshall Cemetery in Mar­shall. Military honors were provided by American Le­gion Post 113 of Marshall and VFW Post 742.

Richard William “Dick” Kontz was born on June 25, 1933 in Colton, S.D. to  Clar­ence and Mildred (Achen) Kontz. As a child, he moved with his family to a farm near Hendricks, where he went to school and gradu­ated from high school. In 1954 Dick enlisted in the U.S. Army. During his tour, he served for 18 months in Okinawa,Japan. On April 28, 1957 he was united in marriage to Marilyn Maier in Canby. Dick managed the Larson-Voigt Furni­ture Store in Canby for five years. In 1962 he and his family moved to Marshall, where Dick began his ca­reer with Prudential. He was recognized as a Life and Qualifying Member of the Million Dollar Round Table. He and Marilyn en­joyed travelling through­out the world, including trips to Monte Carlo, Ger­many, Hong Kongand oth­er interesting places. The couple also enjoyed win­tering on Sanibel Island in Florida. Dick was active in the Marshall community; he served 25 years on the Bremer Bank Board, was a member of the SMSU Foun­dation Board, the Lion’s Club and Jaycees and was an officer in the Chamber of Commerce.

He was an avid out­doorsman, enjoying gar­dening and both Minneso­ta seasons—hunting and fishing. He especially en­joyed his time at the duck shack with his friends, family and beloved dog, Mandy. He was very active in Ducks Unlimited and re­ceived the Minnesota Wa­terfowl Conservationist of the Year award. He leaves behind a lasting legacy of habitat and wetlands con­servation.

In 1995 Dick and Mari­lyn moved to Lake Carlosnear Alexandria, then re­turned toMarshallin 2009. Above all other interests, Dick was most passionate about his family. In 2010, due to congestive heart failure, Dick had an LVAD (heart pump) implanted at the Mayo Clinic. This device extended his life, for which his family is very grateful. He died on Thurs­day, March 15 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester due to other surgical complica­tions.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn of Marshall; children: Cindy (and Ran­dy) Brooks of Albuquer­que, N.M., Joni (and Alan) Greenwaldt of Ramsey, Jim (and Jill) Kontz of Mar­shall and Steve (and Kelly) Kontz of Omaha, Neb.; nine grandchildren: Loren and Justin Brooks, Jasmine and Jewel Greenwaldt, Whit­ney, Hunter and Sam Kontz and Nick and Alex Kontz; siblings Ken (and Audrey) Kontz of Hutchinson, Joe (and Marlys) Kontz of Can­by, Sharon (and Dave) Ben­son of Shakopee and Merle Kontz of Clear Lake, S.D.; sister-in-law Mary Kontz of Buffalo, Barbara (and Dale) Haack, nieces, neph­ews, relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Memorials are preferred to the Mayo Clinic Cardi­ology Division or Living Word Lutheran Church Foundation.

Rehkamp and Horvath Funeral Directors, www. rehkamp-horvath.com, as­sisted the family with ar­rangements.

Arloine Scotting

Arloine Scotting, age 95 of Hendricks, died March 15 at the Hendricks Nurs­ing Home.

Funeral services were at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, at Grace United Methodist Church in Hendricks. Visi­tation was at Birk Funeral Home in Hendricks on Monday from 5-7 p.m. with a prayer service at 7 p.m. and continued one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Burial was in the Hendricks City Cemetery.

Mary Arloine was born Jan. 11, 1917 to Jonathan and Hannah (Hughes) Lewis on the family farm in Custer Township near Garvin inLyonCounty. Ar­loine attended grades one through10 in Garvin Pub­lic School and graduated from Tracy High School in 1935. She attended teacher training in Tracy and taught for nine years in several rural schools in Lyon County. Arloine and Harvey Moon were mar­ried in 1937.

Arloine and Arthur Scotting were married in Flandreau, S.D. on Dec. 21, 1945. They farmed for a brief time near Ruthton, then moved to a farm in the Lake Wilson area. In 1951 they moved to a farm in the New Grove community four miles south of Hen­dricks. In 1977 they retired from farming and moved into a home in Hendricks. They were members of the New Grove Evangelical United Brethren Church and, later, they were mem­bers of Grace United Meth­odist Church in Hendricks. Arloine always enjoyed teaching Sunday school and she belonged to the United Methodist Women. Art died June 11, 1980. In 1995 Arloine moved to an apartment, where she lived until she moved into the Hendricks Nurs­ing Home in 2005. Arloine died March 15 at the age of 95 years, two months and four days.

Arloine is survived by her three sons and their families: Lonnel (Robin) Moon of Marshall, Marlin (Janet) Scotting of Grand Junction, Colo. and Kevin (Alona) Scotting of DeS­met, S.D.; her grandchil­dren: Joanna (Matthew) McKenzie, Sarah (Russell) Svenningsen, Ryan (Heidi) Scotting, Randall Scot­ting, Tabitha (Jim) Behm, Tim (Sandy) Scotting and Toby (Angie) Scotting; her great-grandchildren: Anders and Annika Sven­ningsen, Jack and Jude McKenzie, Dashia Ohman, Chase and Ayden Behm, Drake Scotting, Kelsey, Al­lie and Alaina Scotting; and sisters-in-law Dorsie (Palmer) Lewis and Ro­berta (Marvey) Lewis.

She was preceded in death by her parents, an infant son, her husband Arthur Scotting, sister Revena and Rolland Klan­te, three brothers, Palmer, Rodney and Marvey Lewis, and sister-in-law Vivian Lewis.

Arloine will be greatly missed by her loving fam­ily and many friends.

Mavis Mae (Benz) Nielsen

Mavis Mae (Benz) Nielsen passed away at her home on March 9 sur­rounded by her five chil­dren. She had been bat­tling acute leukemia since August 2010. She was 75.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 17 at Bethany-Elim Lutheran Church in Ivan­hoe with Pastor Stephen Rasmussen officiating. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Friday at the church with a prayer service at 7 p.m. and will continue on Satur­day one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in the Ivanhoe City Cemetery. Online registry at www. birkfuneralhome.com. Ar­rangements are with Birk Funeral Home of Ivanhoe.

Mavis was born Oct. 12, 1936 in Hendricks to Frank and Grace (Botsford) Benz. She graduated fromHendricks High School in 1955. While still in high school, she began working at Whips Café in Ivanhoe, where she met the love of her life, Buzz. They were married March 26, 1956 in Lake Benton and to this union they were blessed with five children—the B’s—Bruce, Bryce, Brenda, Benita and Bennett.

Mavis enjoyed the early married years at home raising the kids and help­ing with the cement busi­ness that they owned. In 1975, after all the kids started school, she began working at the Lincoln County Courthouse until her retirement in 1991. During her retirement she and Buzz enjoyed travel­ing, attending state high school basketball and foot­ball tournaments and, of course, attending the soft­ball games for the Nielsen Team they sponsored. The most memorable time for her, her children and their spouses was the cruise to Alaska they were able to enjoy in August 2011, while her health was still stable.

Mavis remained in­volved in many commu­nity activities, including Bethany Elim WELCA, lifetime member of the VFW Auxiliary andDi­vineProvidenceHospitaland Home. Her hobbies included bowling, garden­ing, quilting, crocheting, cooking and baking, doing crossword puzzles, put­ting puzzles together and spending time with family and friends at the Nielsen Lanes Bowling Alley.

Mavis was a very social person and touched the lives of many. She especially enjoyed her time with her children, grandchildren and her great-grandchil­dren and, in turn, she will be lovingly remembered by them—Bruce Nielsen of Ivanhoe and friend Barb, Bryce (Patricia) Nielsen of Ivanhoe, Brenda (Dar­rell) Sheik of Ivanhoe, Benita (Mike) Steffes of Wahoo, Neb., and Bennett (Patti) Nielsen of Ivanhoe; grandchildren Rebbecca Nielsen, Stephanie and Chuck Kobes, Riley and Tyson, Anthony Nielsen, Stacy and Josh Kiley and Addysen, Kyle and Gina Sheik, Kayla Nielsen, Sky­lar Steffes, Shanly Steffes, Paul, Spencer and Hannah Oellien and family friend Chad “Chucky” Bednarek.

She is also survived by her two brothers, Kenny (Nina) Benz and Dareld (Carole) Benz; sisters-in-law Bernice Benz, Midge (Nielsen) Johnson and Lu­cille (Nielsen) Eide, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Buzz in 2008, her parents, her brothers Howard Benz and Donald Benz, brothers-in-law Norwood Johnson and Arnold Eide.

Thank you for sharing your life with us, it has been a great honor. We will miss you dearly.

Erwin Arnold Ronning

Erwin Arnold Ronning, age 70 of Hendricks, died Thursday, Feb. 23 at Avera McKennan Medical Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.A memo­rial service was held at the Hendricks Hospital Chapel on Friday, March 2 at 10 a.m.

Erwin was born Nov. 9, 1941 in Brookings Coun­ty, S.D.When he was nine days old he was adopted by Arnold and Ann (Thoe­lke) Ronning. He grew up in Hendricks and was bap­tized and confirmed in the Christian faith at First Lu­theran Church, Hendricks. He graduated from Hen­dricks High School in 1960 and served his country in the armed forces.

Erwin enjoyed cars, ka­rate and mysteries. His last years were spent at theHendricksHospitaland Nursing Home. He enjoyed visiting with the residents. After many years he was able to find his birth moth­er, which made him happy.

Erwin is survived by an aunt, Coralie Overby, and several cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents and several aunts and uncles.

Erwin Ronning

Erwin Ronning, age 70 of Hendricks, passed away on Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, March 2 at the Hendricks Com­munity Hospital Chapel with Pastor Allen Molas­con officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the chapel. Burial of his cremated re­mains will be at the Hen­dricks City Cemetery, Hen­dricks. Birk Funeral Home of Hendricks is entrusted with the arrangements.

John DeGroot

John DeGroot passed away Jan. 25 at Deming, N.M.

He was born in Montrose, S.D. and married Ruth Anderson in Hendricks in 1952.

He is survived by his wife Ruth and their seven children.

Dale F. Murphy

Dale F. Murphy, age 81 of White, S.D., died Sunday, Feb. 12 at the Avera-McK­ennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D. Funeral Mass will be 10:30 a.m. Thurs­day, Feb. 16 at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Brookings, S.D., with in­terment at Fairview Cem­etery in White. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. at the Eidsness Funeral Chapel in White, followed by a wake service atSt. Paul’s Catho­lic Church in White. Me­morials may be directed to the Fairview Cemetery, the White Museum, the Brook­ings County Historical So­ciety or the Arthur Graslie City Park.

Dale Francis Murphy was born on April 27, 1930 in Brookings,S.D.to John Francis and Edna Mary (Willmott) Mur­phy. He grew up in White, S.D. Dale graduated from White High School in 1948. In 1951 he joined the U.S. Air Force, serving during the Korean War. After his discharge in 1954 he re­turned to farming with his family in White. In 1956 he attended Nettleton College in Sioux Falls for one year. On March 23, 1957 Dale married Marilyn Hippen in Luverne. They returned to farming and Dale farmed for another 37 years. Marilyn died on March 12, 1999. Joanne McMillan Robbins and Dale were wed Oct. 1, 1999.

Dale was very active in the White community. He belonged to the Higgins-Jessen American Legion Post No. 88 for 55 years. He was a member of the White Healthcare Center Board for 15 years, presi­dent of the White Commu­nity Club for 11 years, di­rector of the First Bank of White for 12 years, board member of the South Da­kota Soybean Plant for 14 years, on the Sherman Township Board for 17 years, lifelong member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church and he was instrumental in building the McKnight Community Hall in 1974 and the Six Mile Creek Golf Course in 1999. Dale re­ceived many farm conser­vation awards. He enjoyed golfing, community work and spending time with all his family and friends.

Survivors include his wife Joanne of White, S.D.; his eight children: Teresa (Gary) Emmett, Timothy (Shelly) Murphy, Tamara (Dirk) Byers, Thomas (Ju­lie) Murphy, Todd Murphy, Troy Murphy and Tracia (Mark) Hogue, all of White, and Tony Murphy and spe­cial friend Nicole Vladu of Severn, Md.; four step-chil­dren: Jeff (Kathy) Robbins of Hendricks, Mike (Lori) Robbins of Aurora, S.D., Pat (Michelle) Robbins of Bushnell, S.D., and Kathy Fluharty of Ft. Wayne, Ind.; 29 grandchildren; 10 step-grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; three step-great-grandchildren; four brothers and two sisters: Richard (Marilyn) Murphy of Wakefield, R.I., Robert (Carol) Murphy of Sioux Falls, S.D., Mary Murphy of Excelsior, Mike Murphy of Charlotte, N.C., Nila (Bar­ry) Meyer of Hendricks and David (Gwen) Murphy of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Marilyn and one brother, John Allen Mur­phy.

Bernard Rybinski

Bernard Rybinski, age 79 years, one month and five days, of Marshall, for­merly of Ivanhoe, passed away on Monday, Feb. 6 at Avera McKennan Hospi­tal in Sioux Falls,S.D.sur­rounded by his children and sister Agnes.

Mass of Christian Buri­al was at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9 at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Wilno. Visitation was from 5-8 p.m. at Birk Fu­neral Home in Ivanhoe on Wednesday, Feb. 8 with Rosary at 5 p.m. and prayer service at 7 p.m. Visitation continued one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Burial was inSt. John Cantius Catholic Cemetery, Wilno. Military honors were provided by the Peden-Cole American Legion Post 109 of Gary, S.D. For online condolenc­es, please visit our website at www.birkfuneralhome.com.

Bernard Cyril Rybinski was born Jan. 1, 1933 in Royal Township,Lincoln County, to parents Joseph F. and Leokadia (Pruszynski) Rybinski. He was baptized, received his First Holy Communion and was con­firmed at St. John Cantius Catholic Church in Wilno. He grew up on his fam­ily farm and attended theSt. John Cantius Parochial School. He farmed his en­tire life. From 1953-1955, he served his country in the United States Army during the Korean War.

On Sept. 17, 1960, Ber­nard was united in mar­riage to Carolyn Pearl Dorenkamper at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Ivanhoe. To this union they were blessed with five children.

Bernard enjoyed bowl­ing, hunting, playing cards and eating out. He was an avid watcher of wrestling and polka dancing. He ea­gerly waited for his weekly Ivanhoe Times to arrive to catch up on the news in the community. His great­est enjoyments in life were spending time with his family and friends and he especially loved having his grandchildren around.

He was a member of St. John Cantius Catholic Church of Wilno, where he served as an usher; he was also a member of Peden-Cole American Legion Post 109 of Gary, S.D.

Grateful for having shared Bernard’s life are his five children: Kathryn (Wayne) Lacek of Canby, Kenneth (Marie) Rybin­ski of Hendricks, Kimberly (James) Marcotte of Mar­shall, Karol (Daniel) Jacob­son of Marshall and Kevin (Lisa Marie) Rybinski of Hendricks; six grandchil­dren: Jordan (Michelle) Jacobson of Marshall, Brian and Cory Rybinski of Hendricks, Marcus and Matthew Marcotte of Mar­shall and Ryker Rybinski of Hendricks; seven sib­lings: Hedwig (Norbert) Citterman of Canby, Joseph Rybinski of Ivanhoe, Mary (Don) Pavek of Hendricks, Agnes Rybinski of Ivan­hoe, Regina Rybinski of Ivanhoe, Richard (Kaleen) Rybinski of Hendricks and Gene (Katherine) Ry­binski of Hendricks, plus many nieces, nephews and friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife Carolyn Rybinski; parents Joseph and Leokadia Rybinski; siblings Susanne Rybinski, Irene Rybinski, Raymond Rybinski and Tony Rybin­ski; sister-in-law Rosella Rybinski; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Law­rence and Pearl Doren­kamper, and brother-in-law David Lingen.

Blessed be his memory.

Merlain Burlingame

Merlain Burlingame, age 93 of Canby, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 8 at Syl­van Court Nursing Home in Canby.

Funeral services were at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Antelope Hills Chris­tian Church, rural Canby, with Pastor Steve Maas officiating. Visitation was one hour prior to the ser­vice at the church. Burial wasd in the church cem­etery. Arrangements were with Birk Funeral Home of Canby. Online registry at www.birkfuneralhome.com.

Merlain Francesca Gustafson was born Feb. 4, 1919 in Balaton, the daughter of Charlie and Elsie (Rettmer) Gustafson. She grew up in the Canby area and on March 17, 1938 she was married to Raymond Burlingame. For many years she worked as a cook at Canby High School and Elementary School. Later, she worked as a clerk at Anthony’s De­partment Store. She was an active member of Antelope Hill Christian Church until her health failed and she became a resident of Syl­van Court Nursing Home. Merlain loved canning, quilting, playing cards, dancing, reading and bak­ing. She loved to listen to polka, waltz and country music.

She is survived by five children: Roger (LaDon­na) ofIdabel,Okla., Joan (Steve) Winter of LeRoy, Janice (Bob) Rosenthal of Hendricks, Dick (Hannah) ofPlainfield,Iowaand Bob of St. Louis Park; 15 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Preceding her in death were her parents Charlie and Elsie Gustafson; hus­band Raymond; brother Charles Gustafson; four sisters: Mildred Buysse, Alice Lehman, Doris Ben­son and Roseanne Richter; two grandsons, Douglas and John Kanniainen, and two daughters-in-law.

Blessed be her memory.