Doris Carey Graeber

Doris Carey Graeber, 98, passed away October 4, 2025, under the compassionate care of Sanford Hospice.

A Visitation will be held 1 PM, Saturday, October 25, 2025, at Heritage Funeral Home, with the Funeral Service starting at 2 PM.  Coffee and cookies will follow as a time of fellowship.

Doris May Carey was born in Wilmot SD, the daughter of James E. Carey and Bernice Christensen Carey.  She skipped the 2nd grade and excelled at Aberdeen Central High School. She transferred from Northern State College as a sophomore to Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. At Northwestern, she was a teaching assistant to Winifred Ward, the woman who started the field of Children’s Theater in the U.S.  Doris graduated in 1949, the same year she married the love of her life, Karl Graeber.  

Doris always worked, feeling that her communication skills and love of people were to be shared.  For years, she worked with her father, husband, and brother-in-law at the family-owned Carey-Graeber-Noble Insurance Agency. Doris also cooked all of the famous  ‘BBQ’ for the family’s Lacey Dairy Bar.  In addition, she volunteered in many community activities including Aberdeen Community Theater (her first love), Sacred Heart Church, and both Aberdeen Central and Roncalli. After Doris and Karl moved to Sioux Falls in 2007, she taught English to Sudanese refugees and was a lector at St. Michael’s Catholic Church.  

Doris was a lifelong and rabid Democrat, supporting many causes: women’s and gay rights, separation of Church and State, and charity to those less fortunate.  She was named First Lady of Aberdeen in 1983 and was inducted into the Central High School Hall of Fame in 2009.  On May 24, 2017, the Mayor of Sioux Falls declared her 90th birthday, officially, Doris Graeber Day.

Her abiding faith in God helped her weather many difficult life events, and she always attended Sunday Mass, albeit lately on TV.  Doris was an accomplished crossword worker, chocolate connoisseur, and counselor, serving as a surrogate mother to many. She was an avid reader and loved talking about current events, even up to the end.

Karl and Doris were married for 64 years and raised five children.  She is survived by her son Ric, her daughters Carey Graeber (Andrew Kozinn), Cassie Baldwin (Brad Baldwin), son-in-law Bill Winter (Paula Nelson), and daughter-in-law Patty Graeber. Surviving grandchildren include Amy Wenzl (Joel Wenzl), Lindsey Lee (Kong Lee), Nat Kozinn (Shannon Kozinn), Karly Winter (Brett Goodwin),  Kim Youngerman and Shad Elliot; six great grandchildren: Addy and Noah Wenzl, Hank and Elliot Kozinn, and Sara and Brett Buchanan. Her extended family (AKA The Grobles) includes nieces and nephews  Jim and Celeste Noble, Mary and John Zimmerman,  and Dan and Ann Noble and their progeny.

She was preceded in death by her husband Karl, her sister and brother-in-law Betty and  Bob Noble, her daughter Christen Winter, her daughter-in-law Patti Graeber, her son Mark Graeber, and her grandson Jacob Kozinn.

Donations may be made to the Aberdeen Community Theater at https://www.aberdeencommunitytheatre.com/  or send a check to The Sanford Hospice Foundation Cottage at 6309 W. 43rd St. Sioux Falls, SD 57106.