Not only are we saying good-bye to the year 2021, but we also remember some notable acquaintances who also said farewell to us.
On December 10, the father of Ron Havermann passed away (https://www.kirkfuneralhome.com/obituary/raymund-havermann). The funeral was in Rapid City, and was livestreamed (https://boxcast.tv/view/raymund-havermann-133346). At about 36:15 on the video, Ron speaks for eight minutes. Ron is easily recognizable, as he seems not to have changed much since he left Brookings. His younger brother Rick was a student of ours in the mid 70's, graduating in 1978. He contacted us and brought us up to date on his life since leaving Brookings shortly after graduation. He indicated that would pass on our condolences to Ron. We hope that Ron will contact us so we can add him to our class list and perhaps see him at our next reunion.
My brother-in-law had a masonry business in Yankton in the 1960's, and mentioned to us that Ray was one of the most efficient and meticulous masons with whom he ever worked. As the obituary and the comments at the service indicate, he took great pride in his work.
Also passing away on that same date was Wanda (Anderson) Barton (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/wanda-barton). She was a few years older than we were, graduating in 1965 with many of our older siblings. While we may not have personally known her, we likely knew of her mother. Her mother Irene was one of the "lunch ladies" at the school. Does anyone remember the others? The 1966 annual has a picture of Bernadene Giesen, Helen MacDonald, Irene Anderson, Della Meyer, and Ruby Nielsen.
On December 18, the wife of Stuart "Skip" Webster passed away (https://www.eidsnessfuneralhome.com/obituary/sharon-webster). While "Skip" taught at the junior high and middle school during our school days, he was one of our 9th grade football coaches, and our JV basketball coach when we moved out to the new high school. "Skip" was ten years older than we were, and was a stellar football and basketball player at BHS. He played alongside Bob Shelden, which made for a formidable duo on the playing fields. The Webster children were students and athletes of ours during their school days.
On December 21, we lost Kevin Moad, brother of our classmate Jerry (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/kevin-moad). He was about seven years younger than we were, having graduated in 1976. His older sister Diann is married to Jerry Hoffman, brother of Paula (Hoffman) Platz.
On Christmas Day, Duane (Hoppy) Rykhus passed away (https://www.rudesfuneralhome.com/obituary/duane-rykhus). He was a science teacher when we were in Jr. High. He also taught 9th grade science at the new high school for a few years before going into the roofing business full-time. During his teaching career, he provided numerous students summer jobs for young men who enjoyed(?) crawling over worn-out and tired roofs that needed upgrading. He was the other 9th grade football coach when we were freshmen. He, too, was an extremely talented athlete at the high school, college, and master's level, earning national recognition in his later years.
At the visitation, I met "Hoppy's" younger brother Bill. He was a basketball teammate of one of my older brothers, and is married to Karen Derscheid, Craig's brother. She gave me a hint about contacting Craig, so maybe we can add another classmate to our mailing list.
I was fortunate enough to play city league basketball on teams with "Skip" and "Hoppy." We were the "Rykhus Roofers" when I first joined. Some other teachers of note were Dave Walder and Paul Johnson. When Bernie Hendricks returned from his military service, he played with us for a few seasons. In later years, we were "Webster Insurance." "Skip" had retired from teaching/coaching in the late 70's, and became a well-known State Farm agent.
The Brookings Register today listed an obituary for VerDonna Van Liere (https://www.kirkfuneralhome.com/obituary/ver-donna-van-liere). That name probably means little to most of us, but it reminded me of my Minneapolis Tribune paper route from the early 60's, as they were one of my customers. They lived on South Main by the old Sale Barn, as her husband Ray managed that facility. My route was south of the tracks and from Main to just east of Medary, as that was the edge of town at that time. One of Ray's sister was Evelyn Edwards, whom some of us may have had for a teacher. Her brother Bob was couple of years older than we were. If memory serves me correctly, he was a fine baseball player.
Our condolences, thought, and prayers go out to these families at this difficult time.
