Adella Kills Pretty Enemy | 1945 - 2026
Obituaries-Mobridge / Posted Jul 13, 2026 | 3:49 PM / 78 views
Funeral services for Adella Kills Pretty Enemy, 81, of Mandan will be at 10 AM, CT, Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Kesling Funeral Home in Mobridge. Burial will be at the Timber Lake Cemetery. Adella passed away Saturday, July 11, 2026, at the Sunset Nursing Home in Mandan.
The funeral service will be livestreamed.
Adella Jean was born January 9, 1945, at the Railroad Hospital, located Southeast of Mobridge, north of the railroad tracks. She died July 11, 2026, at the Sunset Drive Good Samaritan Home in Mandan, North Dakota. She was the first child of six children born to Joshua and Rose (Azure) Rice. She attended a government school in Promise, SD, grade school in Trail City, SD, High School in Timber Lake, SD, and college in Grand Forks, ND for a teaching degree in Special Education. She taught at Little Eagle, Eagle Butte, and Ft. Yates. Jean met Edward Ryckman and they were married June 14, 1963, in Pollock, S.D. They had three sons, Rex Carl, DelRay Vern, and ElDean Verdell. They divorced January 1983.
Some of her nicknames were A.J.; Jeanie Weinie; Jellybean; and Prairie Dog. She grew up in the Dakotas. Jean really liked her jewelry, fancy clothes, and she was also generous to many High School graduates and gave them a special gift of a star quilt. She loved to talk and made the best baked beans. We also referred to her as “Jean’s Beans”.
Jean loved everything about music. She would sing anywhere and with anyone. She played the piano and accordion by ear, she could harmonize to any song even if she didn’t know the song. When the three sisters would sing, Jean could sing louder than the two other sisters together. If the two sisters sang louder, then Jean would then sing even louder!
She loved horses too. She broke horses to ride, she was a barrel racer, rode in parades, and went on many trail rides. She had a little dog named Scrapper and when Jean went into the nursing home, her good friends in Little Eagle took Scrapper as their own to love and care for.
Jean especially liked going to Disney World. The rest of the family pushed her around in a wheelchair and she enjoyed it. We didn’t mind either because if you were with her, we went to the head of the line!!
Jean was willing to offer a helping hand when her sister and brother-in-law visited South Dakota. When she finished her chores at her home, she would come over to help the city folks who needed it. She was always a hard worker and spent many hours in the hayfield.
She is survived by her siblings: Darlene (Mike Goemer) living in Milford, MI; Clayton living in rural Mobridge, SD; Trudy Bieber living in Sioux Falls, SD; Lory (Carmen) living in Clatskanie, OR; Richard (Sue) living in Paducah, KY. Children: Rex (Denise) living in Fort Pierre, SD: DelRay (Lisa) living in Rapid City SD; ElDean (Nicole) living in Sheridan, WY. When Adella Jean united in marriage to Michael Kills Pretty Enemy Sr. she added stepsons William; Michael Jr. living in Mobridge, SD; Charles (Stacey) living in Bismarck, ND. Her grandchildren are Casey, Brandon, Chance, Trevor, Katelyn, Karl, Mariah, Cody and 15 great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Michael Kills Pretty Enemy Sr.; her father Joshua; her mother Rose; Brother-in-law Cliff Bieber (husband of Trudy); Sister-in-Law Sue Rice (wife of Clayton); her Grandson Ryan Ryckman (son of Rex and Denise).
