Photo courtesy of Heritage Funeral Home and Cremation Services - Sioux Falls
Apr 16, 1939 - Jan 4, 2026 (Age 86)
You have my sympathy, Joe. Hang in there
Rex "Pat" Lalley
January 21, 2026 | Spencer, SD | Friend
I did not Sue well but want to send my sympathy to long time friend Joe and the family. My God be with you now and always.
Rex "Pat" Lalley
Rex P. Lalley
January 20, 2026 | Spencer, SD | Friend
Our sympathies to you, Joe and family. What a beautiful lady Sue was, both inside and out. I first met Sue when Joe and Mort coached together at USD. She and I would travel together to away games and got to know each other well. My most fun escapade with her was sitting in a lounge in Montana, looking up at the big "M" on the mountain by campus. After one drink, we decided to climb the mountain to touch the M. We had on dress shoes, nylons and skirts as we climbed, exhausted and hot. The...
Edna Mortenson
January 19, 2026 | Bemidji, MN | Friend
Joe . Brad, Brent, so sorry to hear about Sue . I just read this and want you all to know she was a great, fun, Mom !!!! I wish I would have seen this sooner. Love to you all!!!!
Carrie Rowe
January 17, 2026 | Sioux Falls, SD
To Joe Salem and all the family. My deepest condolences. My Aunt Sue was very special. She was someone I always looked up to. Always smiling, super engaging. She loved life. No matter where it took her she embraced the change, and found new ways to reinvent her purpose and passions. My cousins have been instilled with the same values. I love this quote “Grief changes shape, but it never ends.” You are all in my prayers. God bless.
Nancy Chomenko
Nancy Chomenko
January 17, 2026 | Hampshire, IL | Family
Remembered By
Corey Johnson
January 17, 2026 | Sioux Falls, SD | Friend
Dear Joe, Brent and Brad, and Salem family-
Sending my sympathies on the loss of your wife and mom. She was a sweet lady who battled an ugly disease. She is finally free from it. God bless you all as you grieve her loss yet celebrate her life.
Carol Nesbitt
January 10, 2026 | Thornton, CO | Friend
I remember Sue from our earliest days in SD in 1967 in Vermillion. She was such a sparkling force of Coyote support along with Joe and their family. She will be remembered by so many for her contributions in so many ways.
Ted Muenster
January 10, 2026 | Vermillion, SD | Friend
Rollie and I send our most sincere condolences in the loss of Susan. We have fond memories of spending time at your lake home. I also remember quality time in Goodness Circle at Our Savior's Lutheran Church.
A favorite quote:
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal.
Love leaves a memory no one can steal.
Love,
Rollie and Di
Rollyn and Diana Hohwieler
January 08, 2026 | Bellevue, NE | Friend
Susan "Sue" Lee Salem, 86, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend passed away under hospice care at Dow Rummel on January 4, 2026, surrounded by family after a log battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Funeral services will be at Heritage Funeral Home on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. with lunch and fellowship to follow.
Susan Lee Lange was born in St. Paul, MN on April 16, 1939, to Charles and Ruby Lange. She was the youngest of three, including a sister, Nodiva and brother, Richard.
She graduated from St. Paul Central High School in 1957, and her outgoing likability and talents were evident in her roles as captain of the pep club, captain of cheerleading squad for football and hockey, homecoming queen, as well as the lead role in the senior class play, "Brigadoon."She attended the University of Minnesota in 1957, studying to be a dental assistant. She continued her cheerleading career there as a Gopher cheerleader for football, basketball and hockey for two years before leaving to pursue an exciting opportunity to travel as a stewardess for United Airlines.
In 1961, she left United to marry Joe Salem whom she met at the University of Minnesota. They welcomed four sons to the family, and Sue stayed active cheering on her husband in his coaching career as well as in all her sons' sports. She made that role official during their time at the University of South Dakota where she was the cheerleading coach for nine years. She was responsible for spearheading the Charlie the Coyote mascot for the university.
Never one to slow down, Sue continued being active in her roles as a longtime art consultant, a member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church and volunteer at the Sioux Falls Butterfly House. She loved spending time with her friends and family, playing tennis and bridge, and shopping. She especially enjoyed the beauty and peace at their lake cabin on Green Lake in Minnesota.
Sue was preceded in death by parents Charles Lange and Ruby Lange, her Sister Nodiva and her brother Richard.
She is survived by her husband, Joe; four sons: Tim (Wendy), Wade (Jamie), and twins Brad (Christina), and Brent (Amy): 11 grandchildren: Taylor, Landan, Kylan, Jordan, Breanna, Christian, Elijah, Jeremiah, Luke, Zack and Olivia; and 9 great grandchildren: Julia, Callie, Scarlett, Peyton, Drew, Noa, Audrey, Henry, and Ava.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Association of South Dakota or Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls.
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