David "Dave" Tople

David (Dave) Tople, 82, of Mina Lake, SD passed away on Saturday, March 21, 2026, peacefully at Avera-McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. He was surrounded by his family upon his passing, after a courageous, six-year battle with cancer.

Visitation will be held on Friday, April 10th, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, 1111 S. Main St. in Aberdeen, SD. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, April 11th, 2026, from 4:00 to 6:30 pm at Yelduz Shrine, 802 S. Main St. in Aberdeen, SD.

David Lee Tople was born on August 11th, 1943 in Bristol, SD to Benjamin and Evelyn (Wagner) Tople. During high school, Dave was involved in all types of sports, a true Pierpont Panther. Dave graduated from Pierpont High School in 1961. At that time in his life, he did not think farming was in his future. He moved to Minneapolis for training and employment with Control Data. In February 1964, he married Bonnie Stokke. They were blessed with a daughter, Dawn, and two sons, Lance and Greg.

In March 1967, Dave's life changed dramatically when his dad suddenly passed away. Dave was compelled to move his family back from Minnesota to help his mom continue to run the family farm. While farming was not in his initial plan, he got heavily involved in the agricultural community. Dave was an early adapter of no-till farming in the area; he was a good steward of the land he oversaw. He was also one of the first board members of the BDM Rural Water System, which oversees the provision of quality water in rural areas. With the same care he gave to land and water resources, Dave also raised and fed cattle for over 40 years, not to mention the continual cycle of planting and harvesting crops in which he loved to partake. His happy place was the farm; you could not stop him from going if you tried. He handed down a farming legacy; one he worked tirelessly to build.

When Dave was not farming, he enjoyed fishing and hosting friends and family on the farm for pheasant hunting. He liked to golf and amazingly always shot a 72. Sadly, that was for 9 holes. He was an avid fan of the Vikings and the Twins- if they were winning.

In July 2011, Dave married Jeanne (Lalley) O'Neill. In his words, "It took marrying a stubborn Irish woman to break the stubborn German guy." Dave welcomed Jeanne's children, Erin and Riley O'Neill. They made their home at Mina Lake, where they cherished many family gatherings for holidays, especially on the 4th of July. They both loved to dance, so when they could not find venues in town, they went out of town and started crashing wedding dances. They were never charged or convicted. In the winter, they found warm destinations to get out of the cold.

Dave was a great storyteller- he had many stories to share and always had a captive audience (even if you heard it before). In his younger years, he and his friends were well known for their crazy and funny pranks on each other. You know who you are.

A special thank you to the whole crew at the Don Meyer Cancer Center for six years of wonderful care from your number one fan, "the 8:00 a.m. man."

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Feeding South Dakota at www.feedingsouthdakota.org/ways-to-give/donate/tribute-donations . When you asked Dave, "How did it go today?" Dave would reply, "I was busy all day feeding the world."

Grateful for having shared Dave's life are his wife, Jeanne Tople; his children: Dawn (Terry) Friedrichsen, Lance (Christin) Tople, and Greg (Sonda) Tople; his step-children: Erin (Alex) Visser, and Riley O'Neill; his grandchildren: Carter Friedrichsen, Colby Tople, Skylar (Carlos) Rodriguez Estrada, Brandon Tople, Dane Tople, Laura (Michael) Lopes, Christopher (Kellywood) Severance, Steven Severance, Briggs Tople, Tannon Tople, Taige (Sameer) Keshavan, and Delaney Visser; his siblings: Barb (Tom) Kenyon, Larry (Cathy) Tople, Cindy Tople, and Dan Tople; and his nephews: Ron Kenyon, Bob (Denise) Kenyon, and Ben Tople, and his Aunt Charlotte Peterson. Also grateful for having shared Dave's life are Fred Hochhalter, a neighbor and an honorary brother, as well as Tom Goserud, a life-long friend.

Dave Tople was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin and Evelyn Tople, and his nephew, Richard "Richie" Kenyon.