Edward Clare Staudenmier, 87, of Wagner

October 16, 1932 – October 26, 2019

Visitation will be held at Crosby-Jaeger Funeral Home, 124 E SD-46, Wagner, SD on Wednesday, October 30 from 3pm to 5pm. A Rosary/Wake service will be held at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church on Wednesday, October 30th at 7pm (107 High Avenue SW, Wagner, SD). A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30am on Thursday, October 31, also at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. Internment will follow at St. John's Catholic Cemetery, rural Wagner.

Edward Clare Staudenmier passed away peacefully on October 26, 2019 surrounded by his wife, Delores, and several of his children at Dow Rummel Village in Sioux Falls, SD.

Edward (Ed) was born in Montrose, SD on October 16, 1932, the first-born son of Clarence and Anna (Vorn Hagen) Staudenmier. He grew up on a farm near Humboldt, attending Gilmore Country School and St. Ann's Catholic Grade School. He graduated from Humboldt High School in 1950. Ed completed a degree in the College of Pharmacy at South Dakota State University with Honors and fulfilled his Reserve Officer Training Corps service by working on assignment in Japan. While working at Wall Drug as a pharmacy intern, he met Delores (Dee) Minnaert, also an SDSU graduate, and they married on June 11, 1957.

After two years at Park Ridge Drug in Sioux Falls, Ed and Dee moved to Wagner, SD in 1960 when Ed became a partner and managed James Drug Store. Ed served as pharmacist to the Wagner Community Hospital and to the Good Samaritan Society Center and was devoted to the health of community members in and around Wagner.  He served on many committees at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and was a man of faith. Ed was a humble servant of the Lord, generously giving of his time and talent in service to others. He was active on the Wagner City Council, in Rotary International, the Wagner Chamber of Commerce, the Labor Day Planning Committee, and the Charles Mix County Historical Society. He loved traveling, camping and boating with his family, photography, making wine after family excursions picking chokecherries, woodworking and antique restoration, golfing, and spending time with his grandchildren. Ed and Dee were blessed to be able to travel the world, visiting Africa, Japan, South America (Galapagos Islands), and extensively in the United States. He was an avid reader and valued continuous learning and education and passed that love of learning on to his children.

Ed is survived by his wife, Dee Staudenmier of Dow Rummel Village, Sioux Falls, SD; his sister, Mary Lou (Mike) Ludens of Yankton, SD; his six children: Diane Hawkins of Sioux Falls, SD, Karen (Jay) Snyder of Lincoln, NE, Julie (Rick) Cutler of New York, NY, David (JoAnn) of Chandler, AZ, Michael (Kristin) of Sioux Falls, and Susan (Ted) Lielkoks) of Grand Junction, CO. He is also survived by his beloved grandchildren Tasha Clyde, Melissa Hawkins, Jacob Hawkins, Melanie Snyder, Mitchell Snyder, Charlotte Durkee, Karina Staudenmier, Rachel (Staudenmier) and Kyle Spalding, Nick Staudenmier, Erin Lielkoks, Andrea Lielkoks, and great-grandson, Michael Spalding, each of whom brought such light, laughter and joy to Ed in his final years.

Ed was predeceased by his brother Robert Staudenmier, his sisters Betty Staudenmier Rost and Rita Staudenmier Mascarenas, and son-in-law John Hawkins.

Ed's family wishes to extend heartfelt gratitude to the caregivers at the Wagner Good Samaritan Society Center and at Dow Rummel Village for their kindness and loving care. Donations in Ed's memory may be made to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church or the Alzheimer's Association.