Marlys Foster, 84, passed away on August 17, 2022 in Pierre, South Dakota. There will be a service on Thursday, August 25th, at the Ss Peter & Paul Church, Pierre at 10:00 AM followed by burial at Saint Peter Catholic Cemetery, Colman, South Dakota at 3:00 PM. For those unable to attend the services they will be live streamed on this page on the day of her service.

Marlys Ann Foster (née Gueffroy) was born in Colman, S.D., on Nov. 25, 1937 to John and Mildred (Ronk) Gueffroy. She died in Pierre, S.D., on Aug. 17, 2022.

Raised in Colman, Marlys graduated from high school there in May 1955. On Sept. 27 that year, she married Richard Arthur Foster at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Colman.

Marlys and Richard lived several places in South Dakota, including Dell Rapids, Selby, Murdo and Onida, finally moving to Pierre in 1984. In that time, they had seven children: Mark, Carole, Shelly, David, Daniel, Matthew and Aaron.

Marlys will be remembered for the joy, strength and comfort she found in her faith. In previous years, she was active in the Catholic Church as a catechism teacher and eucharistic minister, and always had a thoughtful prayer to say on behalf of anyone suffering or lonely.

She loved learning about people and was quick to open both her heart and her home. Marlys took pleasure simply sitting with someone for a long visit over a pot or two of coffee. These visits were usually accompanied by a table heavy with fried chicken or creamed pheasant and some truly spectacular (and enormous) chocolate cake.

When Marlys was with family, she would glow with happiness when sitting around a table with her brothers and sister, laughing until tears came, and playing pinochle until dawn. With her kids and grandkids, a highlight of the year was baking and frosting sugar cookies for Christmas. It could be a weeks-long, multi-generational project, and in most years, the results would fill the basement chest freezer and a good part of the garage.

When her children were older, she worked in Pierre at the Filling Station cafe and spent many years as a clerk at Anderson’s Clothing.

Marlys is survived by son Mark and his wife Kristy (Norby), of Pierre; daughter Carole of Rapid City; daughter Shelly and her husband Brad Poppe of Avon; son David and his wife Robyn of Osceola, Wisc.; son Daniel of Pierre; son Matthew of Minneapolis, Minn.; and son Aaron and his partner Rebecca Bentz of Winona, Minn.

She leaves six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren: Jesse Foster, his wife Denise (Mertz), and their children Abigail, Braedon and Amelia of Pierre; Loy Maierhauser of Bozeman, Mont.; Stefany (Foster) Tycz, her husband Adam and their son Dax of Sioux Falls; Megan (Poppe) Heyden, her husband Brand and their children Havorly and Henry of Jamison, Neb.; Addison Maierhauser of Rapid City; and Nicolas Poppe and his wife Brooke of Tontitown, Ark. A seventh great-grandchild is due in November. She is also survived by her sister Delores, of Gainsville, Fla.

Marlys is preceded in death by her husband Richard; her parents, John and Mildred; and her brothers Richard, Marvin, Kenneth and Ronald (who was known in the family as Jingle).

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