Delmar Fawcett, 88, of Ree Heights, passed away peacefully with his family present, Friday, July 15, 2022, at the Good Samaritan Society in Miller.

Funeral Mass will be 10:30 a.m., Saturday, July 23, 2022, at St. Ann Catholic Church, Miller, with Father Paul Josten, Father Ron Garry and Father Ed Vanorny, celebrants.  Burial will follow at St. Ann’s Catholic Cemetery.  A visitation will be 5:00 p.m., with a prayer service to follow at 7:00 p.m., Friday July 22, 2022, at the church.

Delmar was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre, SD.  He was the oldest of three children born to Matthew Clare and Leona (Lippert) Fawcett.  He grew up south of Ree Heights, first in Cedar township and then in 1942 the family moved to a ranch in Green Valley, which the family still operates today.  He attended country school at Spring Hill and often rode his horse to school.  After 8th grade, Delmar attended high school in Miller, graduating in 1951.  On May 28, 1955, he married Patricia Ann Faust and they settled on the family ranch.  To this union were born 3 children: Susanne, Robin and Brian.

Service to our country was important to Delmar and he served in the National Guard.   He was very community minded and served on the Miller School Board, County Commissioners, FHA board, Ree Heights Town and Country, SD Charolais Association, Hand County Crop and Livestock Association, and Spring Hill Township board.  He was in the Miller Lions club for over 60 years.  Delmar was a 4-H member as a youth and continued his support of the program as a 4-H leader for 20 years. He also served as president of the State 4-H Advisory Board. Serving as assistant Beef Superintendent at the South Dakota State Fair for 20 years allowed him a chance to visit with fellow cattlemen and swap stories about the cattle industry.

Religion was very important to Delmar. He remembered as a boy the Bible being read every morning.  He taught Jr High religious education and was a lector at St Ann’s for several years.  He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and helped with many community functions.  He was very proud of his son, Brian, being ordained a Catholic priest.

Delmar experienced numerous changes in his lifetime and embraced them all.  He remembered when electricity first came to the area.  He also recalled party line telephones, two longs and a short was their ring.  Feeding cattle with a team of horses was replaced with tractors and loaders.  All great advancements.  Family and ranching were very important to Delmar.  Hard work was his friend, ranching was his vacation.  Transitioning from a commercial operation to raising purebred Charolais cattle was another change he embraced.  Seeing the cattle on the hills of Green Valley always brought him joy.  He enjoyed attending children’s and grandchildren’s events and activities.  The fact that the ranch has remained in the family was a source of pride.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Patty, and children:  Susi (Dean) Odden, Ree Heights; Robin (Michael) Strain, Sturgis; his grandchildren: Matthew (Sara) Odden, Rapid City; Joseph Odden, Sioux Falls; Christopher Odden, Ree Heights; Jade (Ben) Morgan, Greeley, CO; David (Amre) Strain, Urbandale, IA; 6 great grandchildren; sister, Yvonne Davis, Huron; sister-in-law, Berniece Banman, Meridian, ID; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Bertha; and son, Brian.

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

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