Robert Nystrom passed away at Avera Mary House in Pierre on April 9, 2020. There will be a celebration of life held in Bob’s honor at Redrossa Italian Grille in the Hills Room from 3:00-5:00pm on Monday, July 26th.

Bob was born December 10, 1929 in Pierre, South Dakota, to Swen Nystrom and Elsie Sutton Nystrom. He lived in his early years with his family in rural Sully and Hughes Counties, where he attended rural schools through the eighth grade. As a high school student at Pierre High School from 1944 through 1947 he competed in track and field as well as football, and he was awarded a full track and field scholarship to South Dakota State College in Brookings, where he studied engineering from 1947 to 1950. For a short time after, Bob worked on the early construction of the Oahe Dam outside of Pierre, and for Douglas Aircraft in California, then was activated in the South Dakota National Guard from 1950 to1952, serving in Alaska during the Korean Conflict.

He returned to Pierre to help his father with the family farm, and in 1953 married Evelyn Spiel, of Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Together they had two children, Debra and Bradley, and were married until Evie’s death in 2003. Bob worked in the South Dakota Department of Transportation for thirty-four years, many of those years as Director of the Division of Secondary Roads. While working for the State, he continued to manage the Nystrom Farm and also remained in the South Dakota National Guard, returning for short periods to active duty at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and also Ft. Rucker, Alabama, where he attended flight school, training for both fixed-wing and helicopter flight. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the South Dakota Air National Guard before retiring. In 2008 he married Betty Stratton of Fort Pierre.

Bob was a member of the Pierre Congregational Church. He served on the Pierre School Board, the Oahe Co-Op Board, and the South Dakota Migratory Bird Association Board, and was a donor to the Pierre Cancer Center, Pierre Countryside Hospice, the South Dakota Children’s Museum, Pierre Trappers Baseball Team, and the South Dakota State Historical Society. He was an avid Pierre High School sports fan and enjoyed golfing, hunting, travel, politics, history and genealogy.

He was preceded in death by his parents Swen and Elsie, his first wife Evelyn, his brothers Norman and Marvin, and his son Bradley. He is survived by his wife Betty of Pierre; by his daughter Debra Nystrom of Charlottesville, Virginia and her husband Dan O’Neill and their daughter Mia O’Neill; by his grandson Jesse Nystrom of Scottsdale, Arizona and his wife Jessica and their two sons Ryder and Ryan; by his granddaughter Sarah Sloane of Los Angeles, California and her wife Jenni Sloane; by Betty’s daughter Dawn Day of Fort Pierre and her husband Doug Day and their son Cooper; and by Betty’s daughter Dena Baker of Bridgeport, Connecticut and her husband Corey Baker and their children Brandon, Kody and Kyleigh.

Due to the covid-19 virus and close family members needing to travel from afar, the family will be holding a memorial service at a later date. If anyone would like to make a donation in lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The Pierre Cancer Center.

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