Lorraine Kightlinger | 1928 - 2024
Obituaries-Mobridge / Posted Nov 30, 2024 | 1:01 PM / 615 views
Celebration of life services for Lorraine Kightlinger, 96, of Selby will be at 11 AM, Saturday, December 7, 2024, at St. John Lutheran Church in Selby. Inurnment will be Selby Memorial Gardens under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Visitation will be from 5-7 PM Friday at the church with a prayer service at 7 PM. Lorraine passed away Friday, November 29, 2024, at her home.
Celebration of life services for Lorraine Kightlinger, 96, of Selby will be at 11 AM, Saturday, December 7, 2024, at St. John Lutheran Church in Selby. Inurnment will be Selby Memorial Gardens under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Visitation will be from 5-7 PM Friday at the church with a prayer service at 7 PM. Lorraine passed away Friday, November 29, 2024, at her home.
Though she would have downplayed it, Lorraine Goehring Kightlinger lived a full life. She lived through the Depression, many wars, including World War II, and umpteen societal transformations. Civil Rights. The Moon landing. The first Black President. The invention of the smartphone. The Macarena. And amid all those upheavals, she remained true. To herself. And to those who were lucky enough to know her.
Lorraine resided over six decades in the small yet lively town of Selby, South Dakota, but traveled throughout the USA and as far as the remote island of Madagascar and the historic streets of London and Paris. She danced the polka with unbothered passion, she made a delicious knoephla soup, she loved listening to Daniel O’Donnell and Johnny Cash, she always attended church, she relished sipping coffee at the cafe with her friends— she cherished her family, her town and her neighbors, she knew everyone and was loved by everyone, and was a paragon of good morals and kindness. She passed away on November 29 at home, tucked in her bed, in her sleep. She was 96.
Lorraine was born November 17, 1928, at home on the farm, near Herreid, South Dakota, a wheat farm nestled amid the rolling prairie, a place where no matter which way you looked, there was an endless horizon to behold. Her parents were Edward Goehring and Lydia Salzer. She graduated from Herreid High School in 1946 and attended Northern State Teachers College summer sessions for teachers.
She taught one-room, country schools in Campbell County for 5 years. She was a teacher and mentor her entire life, not just to students, but to her family and friends— teaching those around her about what it means to live a useful, virtuous life. She just lived the right way and ‘loved thy neighbor as thyself’ in the most honest and humble ways possible.
Lorraine and Kenneth (Bud) Kightlinger were married on Christmas Day 1951. She worked hard her entire life— started with farm chores at a young age. After teaching, she worked at the Register of Deeds and the Deputy County Auditor in Campbell County, as well as at the Herreid Sales Barn. Eventually, she became a Secretary at Selby School, as well as a nursing assistant at Selby Good Samaritan Center. And when she wasn’t doing that, she volunteered as Treasurer at St. John Lutheran Church and was VERY passionate about her civic duty as an American, working for many election boards. She was also a member of Royal Neighbors, the Legion Auxiliary, the Women of St. John Lutheran, and Quilting Ladies.
Perhaps her hardest but most rewarding job was raising six kids by herself after the untimely death of her beloved husband Bud in 1970. Over the years, the family she built kept together— meeting every holiday and every two years for jubilant and spirited family reunions. The reunions getting bigger and bigger as children begot grandchildren begot great-grandchildren. She enjoyed humbly sitting in a chair, gazing over her flock, doling out insights or nuggets of wisdom when requested. Ultimately, she lived a life of mothering, friendship and service.
She was grateful for having shared life with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren: her son Lon Kightlinger and grandson Andrew Kightlinger; son Dale and Colleen Kightlinger with grandchildren Derek & Roberta Kightlinger, Brienna Kightlinger, Kiera Kightlinger, and great grandchildren Izzy and Zander; son Kim Kightlinger; daughter Faye Kightlinger; daughter Lois & Brian Lux with grandchildren Tanner & Alyssa Lux and Spencer Lux, and great grandchildren Norah, Emmitt, and Rowdy; daughter Mary & Ron Gardner with grandchildren Mackenzie & Brian Robertson, Miles & Courtney Gardner, and Preston with great grandchildren Kasen, Harper, Payton, Marek, McCall, Mason and Jaycee; and her many nieces, nephews, neighbors, and friends.
She’s preceded in death by her husband Kenneth (Bud) Kightlinger in 1970; Daughter-in-Law Mynna Boodhoo Kightlinger; Infant Grandchildren Carter Lux and Dain Gardner; parents Ed & Lydia (Salzer) Goehring; Stepfather Ed Schuetzle; Brothers Ted, Edwin, Ervin and Ray Goehring; Sister Shirley Erdahl; Brothers-in-Law Homer, Clayton and Orval Kightlinger, Sid Erdahl, George Anderson, Ray McKitrick, Seth Garret, Arnold Hanson; Sisters-in-Law Mary, Ruby, Lenora, and Bernice Goehring, and Eileen, Elna, Helen, Dorothy, Pearl, Jenny and Ardella Kightlinger.
A funeral for Lorraine Kightlinger will be on Saturday, 7 December 2024 at 11:00 AM, with a German lunch following; and a visitation and prayers on the evening of Friday, 6 December 2024, both at St John Lutheran Church in Selby, South Dakota with Pastor Dale Hamre presiding. In lieu of flowers, donations for a memorial may be given.
