Avis Chipman

Avis Chipman, 96, of Miller, passed away Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at the Good Samaritan Society in Miller.

Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at the First Presbyterian Church, Miller with Rev. Brian Jones officiating. Burial will follow at G.A.R. Cemetery, Miller. Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m. Monday, January 20, 2020 followed by a 7:00 p.m. prayer service, all at the church.

Avis Lorraine Olson was born August 10, 1923, the sixth of eight children of Charles G. Olson & Matiel L. (Fisher) Olson in Burdette, Hand County, South Dakota. Charlie & Mattie owned and operated the Burdette Store in rural Burdette Township where Avis worked with her family. She attended grade school in Burdette and the Wheaton Congregational Church. She graduated from Redfield High School in 1941 and married Dwight Chipman February 15th, 1942. They bought a farm in Holden Township where they raised livestock, crops, and welcomed their children Dwane and Dwana there. While on the farm, they attended Sunbeam Congregational Church. In 1964, they moved to Miller and started Chipman Inc. machinery dealership where she did the bookkeeping. She semi-retired in 1976 when Dwane Chipman and Jim Kolda took over the business. She had fun traveling and fishing with Dwight, until his death in 1983.

Avis was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church, secretary of the McWhorter House Museum, a 50-year member of Eastern Star, and active member of Red Hat Society & Senior Citizens Center. She enjoyed quilting and was a beautiful seamstress. All of her children and grandchildren were the lucky recipients of priceless quilts. She liked to play bridge and had many close friends in card club. She was an avid Miller Rustlers fan and enjoyed watching the Minnesota Twins. Avis loved to host family gatherings and was a very good cook. She was also a great family historian and made many photo albums with details only she knew. She liked to keep busy and kept an immaculate home, often while whistling or smiling. Avis spent countless hours playing games and entertaining her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She created so many precious memories that will always be cherished!

Avis is survived by son, Dwane (Harriet) Chipman, Miller; daughter, Dwana (Jim) Kolda, Sioux Falls; grandchildren: Teresa Vernon, Jasele (Scott) Brue, Marci (Derrik Kingma) Timmerman, Kyle (Lisa) Kolda, Ashley (Jay) Winter, Hailey (Sam) Lauer; great grandchildren: Ben and Jack Vernon; Preston, Pierce, Palmer, and Payden Brue; Adalie and Adrian Winter; sister, Amy Garman; sister-in-law, Bev Olson; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Dwight; siblings: Marion (Jim) Fallon, Paul (Velma) Olson, Esther (Bill) Earle, Viola (Bayard) Phinney, Maurice (Fran) Olson, Wally Olson; brother-in-law, Bill Garman; special friend, Jim Keywood; and many dear friends.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Courtyard Villa Assisted Living Center and Prairie Good Samaritan Center for their kindness, compassion and helpfulness.

Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Avis’ arrangements.

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Dolores A. Eaton

Dolores A. Eaton, 90 years and 7 days, of Orient, passed away suddenly Friday, January 10, 2020 at the Faulkton Area Medical Center.

Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, February 1, 2020, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Orient, with Father Christopher Hughes presiding. Burial will be at a later date in the church cemetery. A wake service will be held at 7:00 p.m., Friday, January 31, 2020 at the church.

Dolores Ann Eaton was born January 3, 1930 to Joseph and Josephine (Speck) Baloun in Highmore, SD and she resided in Faulk County the majority of her life.

Dolores was united in marriage to Otho Eaton on August 24, 1948. From this union eight children were born Danny Joe, Anita, Nancy, Debra, Paul, Lynette, Jodene and Russel. She had many grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. In addition to raising her children, Dolores worked at the John P. Shirk Nursing Home, now known as Faulkton Senior Living, for nine plus years and enjoyed every moment of this opportunity in her life.

Dolores had many hobbies. She loved to knit and crochet and was a fantastic bread maker. She was an avid birdwatcher and fed thousands. She was a devoted patron of St. Joseph’s Church in Orient. Upon its closer, she began attending St. Liborius in Polo. She was also active in altar society for many years. Throughout her life her faith in God was a mainstay and was shown by her generosity and sincere caring for anyone who was needing comfort.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one son in infancy, Danny Joe; her brother, Donald Baloun; two sisters, Berneice Aesoph and Lorene Wainright; as well as her husband.

Luce Funeral Home of Faulkton has been entrusted with Dolores’ arrangements.

Gaylon Van Zee

Gaylon Charles Van Zee, 73, of Miller, passed away Friday, January 3, 2020 at Good Samaritan Society of Miller.

Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, January 10, 2020 at the St. Lawrence Community Church with Pastor Glenn Stewart officiating. Burial will be at Rose Hill Cemetery, Langford, SD. Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m., Thursday, January 9, 2020 followed by a 7:00 p.m. prayer service, all at Reck Funeral Home, Miller.

Gaylon was born August 24, 1946, in Huron, South Dakota to Tom and Helen (Jones) Van Zee. While growing up he attended the St. Lawrence Community Church with his family, and as a young boy, he asked Jesus to be his Savior.

As a child he attended country school in rural Hand County riding a horse to school each day and went on to graduate from Sunshine Bible Academy in 1964. He was a talented athlete and went on to play football at Huron College until he suffered a knee injury. After college he taught and coached at Sunshine Bible Academy. He met his wife Laela in the summer of 1971 in Aberdeen where he was leading a ministry team and she was the church secretary. A year later they were married and moved to Brookings where they helped start the New Life Educational Foundation as a ministry to college students. From there they were involved in many different ministries as well as missions’ trips to Mexico, Hong Kong and China.

Later they returned to Sunshine Bible Academy where Gaylon was Development Director and Laela school secretary. During this time, he also took over as the pastor of the small church in Gann Valley. After their years at Gann Velley, Gaylon and Laela became on an active part of the Pleasant Valley Church community.

After returning to SBA they bought a small acreage close to Sunshine where Gaylon raised cattle and put up hay. He worked as a full-time carpenter during many seasons of life and remodeled the historic farmhouse on their family farm. He was an excellent finish carpenter and took real pride in his work. After retiring he remained on the farm working his cattle and putting up hay. He always loved the farm life. Eventually he worked at the grocery store in Miller doing carry out so he could visit and enjoy more people.

A passion of his throughout the years was coaching basketball and track where he touched many young lives. He loved deep spiritual conversations with good friends and telling stories of the good old days. He was known to many for his charisma, leadership and visionary spirit.

After suffering from minor strokes over the past decade, he suffered a major stroke in August of 2018 which marked the beginning of the last chapter of his life.

He is survived by his wife, Laela; five adult children: Victoria Day, Shannon (Janella) Van Zee, Jeremy (Janice) Van Zee, Matthew (Rebecca) Van Zee, and Shawna Van Zee; grandchildren: Garrett, Annaliese, Alexander, Daniella, Julianna and Jennifer Van Zee; siblings: Dale (Cheryl) Van Zee, Richard (June) Van Zee, Larry (Sherry) Van Zee, De Van Zee, and Ray Van Zee; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, David; and infant son, Jordan.

Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Gaylon’s arrangements.

Michael Cliffton “Mike” Pettit

Michael Cliffton “Mike” Pettit, 57, of Miller, passed away peacefully with his daughter by his side on Wednesday, January 1, 2020 at the V.A. Hospital in Sioux Falls.

Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Saturday, January 11, 2020 at the First Presbyterian Church, Miller with Rev. Brian Jones officiating. Burial with military honors will follow at Morningside Cemetery, Ree Heights. Visitation will begin at 6:00 p.m. Friday, January 10, 2020 with a 7:00 p.m. prayer service, all at the church.

Mike was born to Jimmy and Colleen (Evans) Pettit in Anaheim, California. He was a middle brother to Paul and Anna. After his father’s sudden passing, Colleen and the kids moved to South Dakota to be closer to family. There, she met and later married Mike’s stepdad, Don Koeck. Mike gained a younger brother, John, from their union.

Growing up, Mike followed Don around the farm until he was old enough to be of help. On November 15, 1979, he and his best friend, Tom Meehan, swore into the Army National Guard together. He proudly served his country until his retirement in March 2005. During his time as a Soldier, Mike earned the following awards: Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (5th Award), National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Noncommissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M Device (2nd Award), Army National Guard Recruiter Badge, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Good Conduct Medal, Overseas Service Bar (2nd Award).

Mike was a bit of a perfectionist and, although he had no formal training, he could be considered an engineer or inventor. He would take something that was broken and make it new again. If he needed something that didn’t exist, he would fabricate a solution. His ingenuity earned him the nickname “MacGyver” and served him well in his 15 years working for the Miller School District and 23 years with the SD Department of Transportation. He was a man of many talents and perfected them all – from restoring old vehicles, to brewing beer, to building rockets and large model train sets, to shooting, and so many more. He shared his love of the Second Amendment, showing off his -gun collection and welcomed all to shoot in the dugout on his acreage.

His greatest talent was being a dad and grandpa, and he was very proud of his family. Mike married Linda Roberts in May 1980 and together had Laura and Alex. In June 1987, he married Ruth Schildknecht and added Michael Harry to complete the family.

Mike will be deeply missed by his children: Laura (Tony) Hanson and Michael H. (Samantha Tonak) Pettit; three grandchildren: Liz, Kadence, and Elijah; his mother, Colleen; siblings: Paul Pettit, Anna (Lee) Nolz, and John Koeck; his beloved border collie, Dolly; and many loving family members and friends.

He was preceded in death by his son, Alex Wayne Pettit; grandparents, Clifton Riley and Maudie Winnie Pettit and Kathleen “Kitty” Ruby Evans; father, Jimmy Wayne Pettit; stepfather, John Donald Koeck; uncle, Butch Evans; aunt, Patsy Jo Evans; and nephew, Gregory Lee Nolz.

Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Mike’s arrangements.