Luella Tople | 1927 - 2024
Obituaries-Pierre / Posted Mar 21, 2024 | 3:44 PM / 248 views
PIERRE, SD – Luella Tople, 96, of Pierre died on Tuesday, March 12th at her home surrounded by her family. A visitation will be held from 5:00pm-7:00pm on Tuesday, March 19th at Isburg Funeral Chapel followed by a 7:00pm prayer service. A funeral service will be held at 2:00pm on Wednesday, March 20th at Faith Lutheran Church in Pierre with burial to follow at Riverside Cemetery in Pierre. For those unable to attend the service it will be live streamed in the link below.
Luella was born on April 5, 1927 in Wild Rose ND to Lewis and Bertha (Wells) Mortenson. After her mom died when she was 8 years old the family moved to Pierpont SD where she had to learn at a very young age how to be a mom helping her dad care for her younger brothers. She grew up and attended school in Pierpont and that’s where she met her future husband, Eugene Tople.
They were married on October 23, 1947 in Webster SD and made their home in Pierpont until they moved to Pierre SD in the 1960’s. Luella was a full-time housewife raising her children plus many other kids in the neighborhood. She starting working for the Capital Journal in the late 1960’s and then for State Publishing starting in the 1970’s until her retirement at the age of 75.
Luella loved to play games of chance and gamble especially bingo, cards and dice. She also loved her birthday and birthday phone calls from family and friends. She would sit by the phone and wait with anticipation for who would call her on her birthday and keep a record in her note book. After she had the list of all who called her with birthday wishes she would brag to her family.
Most of all Luella loved her family and friends. She was always honored when people would stop by to visit and everyone who was a friend became family to her.
She is survived by her children; Carol (Bill) Kissner, Doug Tople, Betty (Curtis) Wagner, Lori (Don) Wilson, Tim Tople; 15 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren and 23 great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by two brothers Sam and Marvin Mortenson.
She was preceded in death by her parents Lewis and Bertha, her husband Eugene and two daughters Linda Tople and Jody Larsen. She was also preceded in death by one brother LeRoy and one sister Evelyn.
