Gerald E. Mullaney | August 8, 1940 - December 11, 2021
Obituaries-Pierre / Posted Dec 15, 2021 | 12:23 PM / 300 views
Gerald E. Mullaney, 81, of Polo passed away Saturday, December 11, 2021 at the Avera Hand County Memorial Hospital, Miller.
Funeral mass will be 10:30 a.m., Saturday, December 18, 2021 at the St. Liborius Catholic Church, Polo, SD, with Fr. Randy Phillips, celebrant. Burial will follow at the Mount Calvary Cemetery, Polo. A rosary and prayer service will begin at 6:00 p.m., Friday, December 17, 2021 at the church.
Gerald Eugene Mullaney, born on August 8, 1940, was the second oldest of five children born to Leona (Naber) and Leonard Mullaney. He was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre, SD.
The family settled on a farm east of Polo where Gerald lived and farmed until his death. His early education included a nearby country school, before attending St. Liborius grade school in Polo. He completed his formal education by graduating in 1958 from Fairview High School of Polo.
Gerald worked for area farmers while also assisting on the family farm. Custom sheep shearing and silage chopping with and for many of his neighbors kept the farm going through the hard times.
On September 11, 1963, Gerald was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served 14 months in Puerto Rico as Military Police before receiving his Honorable Discharge on April 23, 1965. He continued to serve in the Army Reserves until September 10, 1969. He made long, lasting friendships that he treasured through to the end. He often enjoyed sharing some very entertaining stories of his experiences during his tour in Puerto Rico.
Gerald volunteered his time to drive the Polo basketball teams to their games with his father, Leonard, who was an elementary teacher and coach at St. Liborius School. He enjoyed bowling in Miller in his free time and attended as many sporting events in the area as he could.
He married the love of his life, Margaret (Gilbertz), September 1, 1984. The couple remained on the family farm while enjoying some traveling and spending time with family in the Polo and White Lake areas. Their time together, although sweet, was cut short when Margaret passed in 1995 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Gerald was a devoted caretaker, not only for Margaret when she was sick, but later for his mother, Leona, and aunt, Laura Naber, in their final years. He continued to farm with help from his niece, Sheila and Rob Schlechter and nephew, Rob and Sandy Mullaney and their families. He was always available to help in any capacity and never hesitated to offer his wisdom. Gerald was always a wealth of knowledge regarding the history of the area and loved nothing more than proving someone wrong. He will forever be known as the fun uncle for his many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and a new generation of great-great nieces and nephews, who quickly grew to love him.
Along with farming, he was a life-long member of St. Liborius Church, member of the Knights of Columbus and the Polo American Legion. In his retirement years, he enjoyed several very special summers of Old Time Tractor Pulls where he earned many trophies and, most importantly, cherished friends.
He will be dearly missed by not only his family, but his many coffee friends in Orient and Miller, treasured neighbors and anyone he was able to start a conversation with seemingly at any place or any time. Most acquaintances soon became friends.
Left to celebrate his life are his sister, Phyllis (Duane) Jurrens; brother, Marvin (Mary) Mullaney; brother-in-law, Michael (Barb) Gilbertz; nieces: Sheila (Rob) Schlechter, Heidi (Brent) Wohl, Jennifer Gilbertz and Katie (Darren) DeNeui; nephews: Rob (Sandy) Mullaney, Doug (Sallie) Mullaney, Jay (Stacie) Jurrens, Greg (Lura) Jurrens, Tom (Traci) Jurrens, Brett (Jill) Mullaney and Mike (Diane) Gilbertz; he was also cherished by 23 great nieces and nephews; and eight great great nieces and nephews.
Joining him in heaven are his wife, Margaret; his parents: Leona and Leonard; infant sister, Maxine; brother, Duane; and parents-in-law: Mike and Ruth Gilbertz.
Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Gerald’s arrangements.
