Marcella Mae Booth

Santa Fe, N.M. - The loss of Marcella Mae Booth - “Cante Waste Winyan” (Woman of Good Heart) on Oct. 1, 2008, in Santa Fe, is deeply felt by all who knew her.

Evening services will be at 7 p.m. MDT on Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, at the United Church of Christ in Eagle Butte, S.D. Funeral services will be held at the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School Auditorium in Eagle Butte on Tuesday Oct. 7, 2008, at 10 a.m. MDT. A meal will follow the services at the United Church of Christ.

Internment will be at the Booth Ranch near Ridgeview under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge.

Marcella, the daughter of Bob and Diane Booth of Ridgeview, was born May 5, 1979, at Eagle Butte. Marcella enjoyed helping and growing up on the Booth Family Ranch. She was a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and a lifetime member of NARP. She was active in the Prairie Pals 4-H club; she attended Ridgeview Elementary until she completed the eighth grade; graduated from Gettysburg High School in 1997.

While in high school, she enjoyed playing volleyball, playing the clarinet in band and participating in FFA; she was an accomplished pianist. She attended the University of Minnesota-Morris for three years, then lived and worked in Kansas City, Kan.

She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the College of Santa Fe in Santa Fe, N.M., where she lived for the past four years. She worked as a veterinary technician at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society of Santa Fe and was highly valued for her knowledge, dedicated work ethic and great compassion and concern for the animals.

Her family and friends enjoyed her dry humor and quick wit. In the last years of her too-short life, Marcella deepened her understanding of her Native American spiritual heritage, rescued a dog she named Reeses, after her favorite candy and traveled to Madrid, Spain.

Marcella was a quiet but shining light in the lives of so many; she was an inspiration to those whose lives she touched.

“How she lived! How she shone! But how soon the light was gone.” - Tim Rice

Marcella was deeply cherished and loved by her parents, Bob and Diane Booth, sister Lori and brother-in-law Greg Flaitz, nephew Richard Robert of Ridgeview, brothers Robert of Ridgeview and Ben of Laramie, Wyo.; and her beloved dog Reeses; Marcella is also survived by her grandfather, Gilbert LeBeau; grandmother, Marcella LeBeau, both of Eagle Butte. Aunts: Christine LeBeau, Irving, N.Y.; Gerri LeBeau, Rapid City; Kathy Le Beau, Donna LeBeau both of Eagle Butte; Cathy Booth, Timber Lake; uncles: Ben Peterson, Sheridan, Wyo.; Tom LeBeau, Rapid City; Dan Booth Jr., Timber Lake and Richard Booth, Redfield. Cousins: Linda Peterson, Sheridan; Yvette Goseyun, Ariz.; Brandon LeBeau; LeAnn Bennett; Sharon Francis; Beth LeBeau; Nate LeBeau; Aaron LeBeau; Daniel LeBeau Jr., N.Y.; Brad Moran; Meaghan and Morgan LeBeau; Bonnie LeBeau; Ryan LeBeau; Ryman LeBeau; Heather LeBeau; Dawn LeBeau; Jacinda and Lania Lind, Eagle Butte; Nichol LeBeau, Johanna Farmer; Felicia Farmer; Mattea Farmer and Michelle LeBeau, Rapid City; Gerald Booth, Timber Lake; JoLeah Booth, Denver, Colo.; Janelle Booth, Bozman, Mont.; and Jason Booth, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Casketbearers are Richard Ryan LeBeau, Ryman LeBeau, Gerald Booth, Mike Ryan, Brandon LeBeau, Jace Booth, Aaron LeBeau, Nate LeBeau, Dan LeBeau, Jr. and Jason Booth.

Honorary Bearers are Sharon Finn, Audra Dowell, Cat Perry, Megan Young, Caroline Sokol, Katie Hastie, Lisa Gipe, Kelly Tribelhorn, Gayle Mallicoat, Jodi Jackson, Lisa McCormack, Santa Fe Animal Shelter staff, Gettysburg High School classmates.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society, 100 Caja del Rio Road, Santa Fe, NM 87507; phone: 505-983-4309, ext 200. Or United Church of Christ Missions of the Heart, Pastor Pauline Webb, PO Box 300, Eagle Butte, SD 57625; Phone: 605-964-3113.

This obituary was originally published in the Aberdeen American News.