ORIENT, SD – Mary E. Roesler, 79, of Orient, passed away on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at the Faulkton Area Medical Center, with her family at her side.

Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Miller, with Rev. Rhonda Wellsandt-Zell officiating. Burial will be at Prairie View Cemetery in Orient. Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m., Monday, July 27, 2027, followed by a 7:00 p.m. prayer service, all at Reck Funeral Home in Miller.

Mary Ellen Roesler (Holt) was born March 23, 1947, in Faulkton, South Dakota, to Sheldon and Mabel (Hargens) Holt. She graduated from Miller High School in 1965. Upon graduation, she attended Augustana College, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. On November 28, 1970, she was married to Robert Duane Roesler at St. Michaels Lutheran Church in Orient, South Dakota.

In 1972, she welcomed her first child, Chadrick Lee. Her family grew with the birth of her daughter, Traci Lea, in 1979, followed by another daughter, Tamara Rae, in 1983.

Mary worked for years with children in the Head Start program as well as teaching school in both Miller and Redfield. In 1990, she moved to Hotchkiss, Colorado, where she continued working with children as a substitute teacher. She loved to garden, sew, read books, and spend time with her family. Mary was the bookkeeper for her husband and son’s outfitting and construction businesses for years. She was a full-time caregiver for her husband when he became severely ill. In 2021, she moved back to the family homestead in Orient, South Dakota.

She is survived by her son, Chad Roesler of Orient, SD; daughters: Traci Stroh of Hotchkiss, CO and Tamara (Nick) Cruse of Aurora, CO; honorary children: Michael and Melanie Jugovich of Chisholm, MN; her six grandchildren: Lane, Kiera, and Chael Stroh, Dylan Hernandez-Roesler, and Alex and Owen Cruse; brothers, Theron Holt and Warner Holt (Donna Palmer) Orient, SD; sister, Janet Johnson, Miller, SD; sisters-in-law; Lynn Roesler Savannah, GA; and Joan Roesler, Bandon, OR; brother-in-law; Lyle Nichols Palisade, CO; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Roesler; her parents, Sheldon and Mabel Holt; her in-laws, Emil and Martha Roesler; sister, Phyllis Holt-Nichols; brother-in-law, Neal Johnson; sister-in-law, Verna Volek; brothers-in-law, Clifford Volek and Don Roesler; and son-in-law, Joseph Stroh.

Reck Funeral Home of Miller has been entrusted with Mary’s arrangements.

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