Benjamin Retzer

Benjamin "Benny" Louis Retzer, 87, of Mobridge, SD, passed away peacefully on June 10, 2025, in Remsen, IA, at Happy Siesta Health Care Center.
Throughout his life, Ben endeared himself to others with his steadfast kindness and gift of humor. He moved to Happy Siesta due to dementia, but never forgot how to make people laugh, even in his final days.
Ben was born on July 2, 1937, to Arthur and Helen (Beck) Retzer on their homestead in McPherson County, SD. He grew up on the farm with an older brother and sister (deceased), as well as a younger sister. He helped milk cows, cared for his favorite horse, Babe, and had a pet pig. They lived in a closely-knit farming community of German immigrants from the Black Sea region of Russia and Bessarabia (a historical region of Eastern Europe). This extended family of relatives and friends shared a German Lutheran heritage, cultural traditions, foodlore, and resilience. German was spoken, read, and sung at home and church. Church was the center of their community life.
Ben was baptized and confirmed (1951) at St. James Lutheran Church in Ashley, ND. He began country school at the age of five due to his mother's chronic illness from rheumatic fever. On pleasant days, he rode Babe bareback to school; in the winter, he was whisked there in a horse-drawn sleigh. When his beloved mother passed away in 1948, the family briefly relocated to Grainger, WA, before returning home to their community.
Ben graduated from Eureka High School in 1954, where he lettered in football and track. As a senior, he competed in the sprint medley and mile relay at the South Dakota State Track Meet. He later took liberal arts courses at Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, SD, and taught at Detmold District 4 Grammar School, a country school near Eureka, during the 1954–55 school year. He loved teaching and hoped to pursue it as a career.
In 1955, Ben enlisted in the U.S. Navy, stationed at Norfolk, VA. He was recommended as a German interpreter and trained as an electrician's mate, third class, a skill he would use throughout his life. He was deployed on the U.S.S. Borie (DD-704) for a tour of the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Suez Canal during the Suez Canal Crisis of 1956, followed by a Mediterranean tour in 1957. He was honorably discharged in 1958.
While on leave in 1957, Ben married his high school sweetheart, Yvonne "Vonnie" (Dockter). A box of love letters remains as a testament to their time apart during his deployment. Together, they had five children and were married for 57 years before Vonnie passed from cancer. They lived and worked in Norfolk, VA, Webster and Aberdeen, SD, before settling in Mobridge, where they owned a home for 54 years, sold just days before Ben's passing.
Ben worked as an electrician for Otis Elevators and as an insurance agent before joining Sweetheart Bakery, where he remained until retirement. Though he didn't return to teaching professionally, he poured his love of learning and children into service as a Sunday School and Catechism instructor. He and Vonnie also fostered three children over the years.
Ben's favorite pastimes included visiting with friends and family, baseball, slow-pitch softball, league bowling (he once bowled a 277!), card games-especially whist (which he won a tournament playing at age 80, with friend Al Gorham)-Sudoku, fishing, listening to music, feeding squirrels, and watching old Westerns. He managed the sound system at Trinity Lutheran Church, where he was a member for 30 years, and served as Chairman for a time, as well as Vice President of the Church Council, among other roles. In later years, he was active at Sacred Word Lutheran Church, where he remained a member until his passing.
Ben is survived by his children Debra (Michael) Tonner of LeMars, IA; Dorinda (Kevin) Vojta of Mobridge; Daniel (Laureen) Retzer of Bothell, WA; Deanna (Stelian Dragan) Retzer of Brooklyn, NY; and Douglas (Erin) Retzer of Rapid City, SD. He is also survived by his brother Robert (Darnelda) Retzer of Aberdeen, SD; sister Emilie Oster of Richmond, MN; grandchildren Brianna (Daniel) Dehaan, Nathaniel (Nichole) Tonner, Andrew Tonner, Rachel and Logan Vojta, Dalton Retzer, Miles and Marshall Retzer, and Hudson and Hazel Dragan; and great-grandchildren Eleanor and Benjamin Tonner, and Remy Dehaan.
He was preceded in death by his wife Yvonne (Dockter), sister Genevieve (Hilmer) Opp, parents Helen (Beck) and Arthur Retzer, maternal grandparents Emilie (Fritz) and John Beck, and paternal grandparents Katherine (Miller) and Christopher Retzer.
Ben's final resting place will be beside his beloved Vonnie at Greenwood Cemetery in Mobridge. His funeral service, with military honors, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mobridge, with interment to follow. Visitation will take place from 5:00–7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 27, at Kesling Funeral Chapel in Mobridge, with a prayer service beginning at 7:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Mobridge Senior Center.