Dean Wilde

Dean Wilde

Dean L. Wilde, age 91, passed away in Sioux Falls, on July 16th, 2016. He was born in Fremont, Nebraska on April 25th, 1925. His life's journey covered much more ground than this distance would suggest. Dean was orphaned from birth and raised by a dirt-poor and peripatetic farming family, who attempted to grow corn on depleted land during years of miserable drought and depression. Childhood was strict and hardworking, he had to leave school in the 8th grade and leave home at the age of 14 to find work. Surprisingly, it was to start his own harvesting business with a two row corn-picker welded to a used Farmall tractor. He moved to Sioux Falls and in 1949 met the love of his life, Ruby Pearl Jorgensen. After a first date at the Two Fat Bosses restaurant in Sioux City and 3 months of courting, he proposed in a high school parking lot. They were married in Viborg, bought and lived in a rental property in Sioux Falls, and started a family plus an insurance business. Despite his boyhood farming experience, he believed in the value of land and added a commercial real estate business. Dean was constantly on the move and Ruby knew how to turn his talents (and idiosyncrasies) into economic success, strong Christian beliefs, and a loving family. Dean has now joined Ruby, who passed away four years earlier, but the enterprise continues to grow. They are survived by three children, Cheryl (James) Bosley, Dean (Cecile) Wilde, and Michael (Stephanie) Wilde, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, and a sister, Dorothy Thompson.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 am Friday, July 22, at Zion Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, with interment at Woodlawn Cemetery. Visitation, with the family present to greet friends, will be from 5 to 7 pm Thursday, July 21, at Miller Funeral Home, 507 S. Main Avenue.

www.millerfh.com