Paul Huffman, age 81, of Lemmon, SD, passed away on Thursday evening, March 28, 2024 at the Five Counties Nursing Home in Lemmon, SD.

A celebration of life for Paul will be held from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at the Lemmon Senior Citizen’s Center in Lemmon, SD.

Paul was the most generous, hardworking, and tenacious man I’ve ever known, and I know many of you would agree. South Dakota was exactly where a cowboy like him dreamed of living. In 1974 Paul and his brother Dale bought 900 head of steers in their home state of Oklahoma. Dale recalls Paul loading up in a semi to haul the steers to South Dakota and never returning. He had found where he wanted to be.

Paul was born on January 1st, 1943, in Mooreland, Oklahoma. He was the first child of Charles and Luella Huffman followed by his sister Kathryn and younger brother Dale. Paul grew up in Mutual, Oklahoma on the family farm and ranch operation. He spent so much time farming in his young years that when it came to his own ranch, farming and haying equipment would only ever be a decoration in the yard. Paul was more interested in the cowboy side of life. He was very proud of being the youngest borrower from the PCA at the time and was eager to start his own cow herd. He worked alongside his brother and sister on the farm while frequenting the local sale barns to buy and sell cattle. Paul graduated in 1961 from Mutual High School where he was homecoming king, FFA Junior Master Farmer of the Year, and named Mr. Basketball. It was rumored he gave college a try for a whole three hours before returning home to the local sale barn where his Grandpa Sam was spending the day buying cattle. Sam didn’t even look up from the program before asking Paul, “What took you so long?”

In 1962, he married Edna Gilliland. Paul and Edna’s oldest son Dave was born in 1963 followed by Brad in 1965. He spent his time managing sale barns in Woodward and Buffalo, Oklahoma, and running cattle in Oklahoma, Colorado, South and North Dakota, and Montana. It was 1974 when he moved north and continued running yearlings all over western South Dakota. Paul married Gwendolyn Hetzel in 1976 and gained two more sons, Chad and Cody. In 1995 he took over management of Lemmon Livestock in Lemmon, SD. With the help of friends and local cattlemen in the community, Paul took ownership of Lemmon Livestock in 1997. In his last days with us, he mentioned numerous times how grateful he was for the support of those individuals during those early years.

Paul was a huge supporter of the community. In an article recently, Tri-State Livestock News wrote, “Paul always opened the doors to the community if anyone wanted to use the facility for any reason. Rodeo stock contractors kept cattle and horses out there and contestants were welcome to drop horses off at no charge; Paul furnished the hay. He has always been a staunch supporter of 4-H, and the Lemmon Junior Livestock show, and has bought countless steers and premiums over the years, not only from his customers but from other kids who weren’t getting a bid. He has always been one of the first to step up if there is a medical need in the area and organize a benefit at the sale barn, I don’t know how many times he’s done that.”

In the 26 years of ownership at the sale barn, 1.9 million head of cattle crossed his ring valued at 1.5 billion dollars. Paul was his grandchildren’s biggest fan, always making time to come watch a game or rodeo. He never missed a chance to poke fun at them for his amusement. Paul is survived by his wife, Gwen, Lemmon, SD; children Dave (Nicole) Huffman of Lemmon, SD, and Brad (Brenda) Huffman of Belle Fourche, SD. Stepsons Chad (Jo) Hetzel of Lemmon, SD, Cody (Kimberly) Hetzel of Clifton, CO. Grandkids Jordanne, Matt (Mehlia Brezden), Justin, Wyatt (Lauren) Huffman. Madison Huffman, Sam (Karly Bang) Huffman, Cash and Colby Hetzel, Wylie, Sterling, and Jayden Hetzel. Great grandkids Ella Malkowski and Bradlee and Lilah Wang.

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