Patsy Kringel | October 11, 1947 - August 27, 2021
Obituaries-Pierre / Posted Aug 31, 2021 | 12:51 PM / 333 views
Patsy Kringel, 73, of Pierre, passed away Friday, August 27, 2021. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.
Patsy was born to Clarence and Florence Grage in Mobridge, SD, on October 11, 1947. The family moved to Pierre in 1952 and Patsy graduated from T.F. Riggs High School in 1965. She met and married Kris Kringel in September 1970. The couple were blessed with a son, Chad, and a daughter Sarah. Patsy and Kris became partners in exploring the outdoors. They were avid bird watchers and loved looking for rocks along the Missouri River. They also enjoyed fishing and camping as a family. Kris passed away in 1982 and Patsy bravely raised Chad and Sarah on her own.
Patsy continued to raise her children to love and respect nature. She was a voracious fisherwoman. Chad would come home from school in the spring and find a couple dollars and a note that said, “I’m at Farm Island. Bring more minnows!” She always had a pair of binoculars at hand and had compiled an impressive list of bird species she had seen in her life. Patsy and Sarah spent countless hours driving the backroads at a snail’s pace trying to identify every little brown bird they saw.
Another one of Patsy’s passions was reading. She worked at the South Dakota State Library where she made countless friends. She was always receiving calls requesting a new book to read. She could frequently be found asleep in bed with a book open on her chest. She was a great Scrabble player and instilled a love of game playing and reading in both of her children. Undoubtedly, the greatest loves of her life were her three granddaughters: Chrissa and Anna Hibbitts and Emily Kringel. She was constantly bragging on her grandgirls and they could do no wrong in her eyes.
Patsy courageously fought poor health for numerous years. She peacefully passed away in her sleep at her home on August 27, 2021. She is survived by her brother Jerry Grage, her sister Janice (Doug) Beemer, her son Chad (Pam) Kringel, daughter Sarah (Chris) Hibbitts, and the loves of her life, her granddaughters, Chrissa and Anna Hibbitts, and Emily Kringel. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews whom she loved very much. She was preceded in death by her husband Kris, her sister Cleo and Cleo’s husband Larry Martin and sister-in-law Judene Grage.
