Visitation will be Sunday from 4 until 5:30 PM at the Crosby-Jaeger Funeral Home in Wagner. A Rosary/Wake honoring Marie's life will be 6:30 pm, Sunday, November 8, at St. John's Catholic Church, and Funeral Services are 10:30am, November 9, at St. John's Catholic Church. Interment is at the St. John Catholic Cemetery, Wagner SD. Memorials will be given to St. John's Altar Society.

Marie Elodie (Rysavy) Thornton, 90, of Spearfish SD, formerly of Wagner, died November 5, 2015 at the Belle Fourche Health Care Center. Marie was born January 30, 1925 to Edward C. and Katherine A. (Rada) Rysavy, in Winner, where she lived until she was 8 years old. She then moved with her parents to a farm south of Colome. In 1934, she moved with her parents 12 miles south of Wagner. In 1939, she graduated 8th grade from the Ree Township School. Because her two older brothers, Edward and John were in the military during World War II, Marie then decided to stay home and help her parents with the farming and chores. She became quite the farmer girl and could operate any piece of farm equipment, doing everything from tilling and plowing, to planting, haying, combining and truck driving. Marie was also very handy with the cattle and hog operations. Just after the end of World War II, Marie met the love of her life and married Wesley E. Thornton on October 29, 1946. They took up farming and lived just south of Marie's home place for two years. When Marie's family purchased a farm near Tyndall, Wesley and Marie took over the Rysavy family home and farm ground (Varnicks) and continued to farm until Wesley's passing in 1985. Marie retired from the farm in 1987 and purchased a home in Wagner with her sister Irene and brother Roy. She lived in Wagner until she had a stroke in 2008 and needed additional care. Marie then moved to Spearfish and lived with her daughter and son-in law until four months ago, when she moved to a nursing home in Belle Fourche.

Marie was a very hard worker all her life, raising four children and working side-by-side with her husband Wesley in the fields and doing chores. Along with farming she also loved and fit into her busy life, gardening, canning, baking, hunting and fishing. In her later years she also enjoyed going on bus trips to many parts of the country, including Alaska. She was a life-long member of the St. John's Catholic Church and St. John's Altar Society, June Band.

Thankful for having shared her life are her sister Irene Rysavy, her children: James Thornton (Tammy) of Wagner, Carol Thornton (Jerry Stucky) of Piedmont and Marjorie Flesner (Jeffrey) of Spearfish; 11 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.

Marie was preceded in death by her husband Wesley, her eldest son David; her parents; her brothers: Edward, John, Leo (sister-in law Elsie), Joseph (sister-in-law Dorothy) and Roy.