Cheryl Lynn Tames Namminga, 78, of Springfield, SD

Cheryl Namminga died September 30, 2026 at St. Michael’s Hospital in Tyndall, SD. Memorial services will be 10:30 AM, Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at Emmanuel Reformed Church in Springfield, SD. Inurnment will be in the Emmanuel Reformed Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the church from 5-7 PM, Monday, October 5, 2026.

Cheri Lynn Tames Namminga was born on May 19, 1948, in Igloo, South Dakota, at the Black Hills Ordnance Depot, to Lois Tames. Cheri was adopted and lovingly raised by her grandparents, Peter and Grace (Crane) Tames. At the age of seven, she and her grandparents returned to Grace’s ancestral home in Centerville, South Dakota, where Cheri attended elementary and high school and graduated in 1966.

Cheri received a scholarship to attend the Theatre program at the University of South Dakota. After one semester, she transferred to Southern State College in Springfield, where she met the love of her life, Lawrence “Jr.” Namminga. As fate would have it, Jr. was cast as the lead actor in Cheri’s senior student theatre project, The Hare and the Tortoise.

During her years at Southern State College, Cheri was an active member of Delta Psi Omega and appeared in numerous theatre productions. In her senior year, she was selected as Miss Southern State College. After winning the title, she represented Southern State at the Miss South Dakota Pageant in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Cheri graduated from Southern State College in the spring of 1970.

Cheri and Lawrence were married on December 24, 1970, at the Centerville United Church of Christ. In 1971, they moved from Wayne, Nebraska, where Cheri had been an educator at Wayne High School, to Cody, Nebraska, after they were both offered teaching positions. It was there that their first daughter, Shannon, was born.

Soon afterward, Cheri and Jr. moved to Hot Springs, South Dakota, where Jr. assumed the position of Assistant Superintendent at the South Dakota Veterans Home. Cheri became the Executive Director of the Miss South Dakota Pageant. Here their second and third daughters, Heather and Amy, were born. She also spent time caring for her nephew, Luke, and other children as a nanny.

In the summer of 1981, Jr. and Cheri moved to Springfield, South Dakota, where Jr. accepted a position as Business Manager at Southern State College. Cheri stayed home to raise their daughters, a role she cherished. After Amy began elementary school, Cheri returned to the world of education—a place where she truly belonged. She loved to learn, and she loved to teach.

Over the years, Cheri taught offenders at the prison, taught at St. Mary’s Episcopal School for Girls, and also worked at Springfield Academy as Principal. She attained her master’s in education. Education was more than a career for Cheri; it was a way for her to connect with and make a difference in the lives of others.

Outside of her work, Cheri found joy in the simple and meaningful things in life. She loved participating in Bible studies and cherished the time she spent having coffee with her friends, especially her best friend, Chris Jacobsen, as they solved their children’s problems and the problems of the world together. She loved to golf, read, crochet, and quilt.

But perhaps the role she loved most was being a Nana. Cheri loved her grandchildren fiercely and took great joy in watching them grow. She also had a gift for giving her daughters wisdom, encouragement, and advice that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Cheri passed away peacefully on September 30, 2026 at St. Michael’s Hospital in Tyndall, South Dakota.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Lois Tames; grandparents, Grace and Peter Tames; brother, Frederick Chad Tames; half-brother, Ray Olson and brother-in-law Gary Gunderson.

She is survived by her husband, Lawrence “Jr.” Namminga; her daughters, Shannon (Gary) Jepsen, Heather (Kyle) Raverty, and Amy (Mike) Reynolds; her beloved grandchildren, Caden Namminga-Jost, Addison Reynolds, Coy Reynolds, Brayden Jepsen, Gavyn Jepsen, Dawsyn Jepsen, Miles Raverty, and Eleanor Raverty as well as many nieces, nephews, sisters in law and brothers in law.

Cheri leaves behind a legacy of love, learning, laughter, faith, friendship, and family. Her wisdom will live on in her daughters, her grandchildren, and in the many lives she touched as a teacher, mentor, friend, wife, sister, aunt, mother, and Nana. She will be deeply missed and forever loved.