Erma Margene Stevens, 87, passed away February 15, 2026 at Legends on Lake Lorraine.
Erma was born on September 3, 1938, in Sioux Falls South Dakota. She was the daughter of Claus and Tillie (Plucker) Buseman, she had two younger brothers: Gene and Erv Buseman.
Erma grew up on a farm in rural Chancellor and attended country school until 9th grade when she began attending Parker high school, after graduation she attended Sioux Valley Hospital Nurses Training and was a Registered Nurse for her 50+ year nursing career.
Erma married Lee Roy (Roy) in June 1960, and they had 3 daughters together: Sheila, Laurie and Micki. Erma and Roy were married more than 65 years when she passed away.
Erma worked in hospitals in Vermillion, SD, Wichita, KS, St Louis, MO and Yankton, SD before moving to Sioux Falls and working 40+ years in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at Sioux Valley/Sanford Hospital. Erma absolutely loved her career as a nurse and finally retired at 75 years old. She won many awards during her nursing career including a Daisy award, Nurse of the Month and Nurse of the Year awards while at Sanford hospital. She built many friendships with her fellow coworkers and had lifelong close friendships with a few, she was also known and loved by many there.
Throughout their lives, Erma and Roy enjoyed camping and boating with their girls and after the girls moved on, they continued camping & boating. They especially loved travelling to the mountains of Montana and Colorado and visited both many times.
Many, many weekends were shared camping together in the family pickup camper. One especially memorable trip was a month-long vacation to the west coast where they met and were able to spend time with family members they’d never met before and saw so many beautiful sights such as the Redwood Forest, different parts of the Pacific Ocean, the Grand Canyon, Space Needle in Seattle, Fisherman’s Warf in San Francisco, Disney World, etc.
Erma and Roy frequently allowed the girls to bring their friends along camping and they also welcomed them into their home; they considered them and called them their extra daughters.
Erma loved gardening and always had a variety of fresh vegetables every summer, she would can those and also make and can homemade jams every year. Erma also loved her flowers and flower gardens – she had an incredible green thumb with her flowers and plants.
Erma was very motivated and task oriented, she always made sure her house was spotless, everything was organized and the laundry and her dreaded ironing were done. She was diligent about sending cards for all holidays and different occasions to her daughters.
Erma suffered from many significant health aliments over the years; she was a strong and tough woman who conquered so much – she will be very missed by her family and friends.
Erma is survived by her husband Roy, daughter Laurie and her husband Larry, daughter Micki and her fiancé Kenny Meiers, granddaughter Amelia and her husband Derek Miller and their daughters Lucy, Clara and Sophia, grandson Ben Kramka, his wife Lyndsey and their children Eleanor and Emmett, brother and sister-in-law Erv and Shirley Buseman, sister-in-law’s: Eileen Scheidt and Nina Stubbe, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Erma is preceded in death by her daughter; Sheila Sargent, her great granddaughter; Matilda Miller, her parents Claus and Tillie Buseman, her brother and sister-in-law: Gene and Wanda Buseman, her father and mother-in-law; Jacob (Ernie) and Annie Stevens, brother-in-law’s; Norman Scheidt and Vern Stubbe, nephew Jimmy Scheidt, and many other relatives.
Funeral services will be held 1:00pm Thursday, February 19, 2026 at Heritage Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.
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