Joseph William Dreps, 69, passed away on Saturday October 7, 2023, at his Rapid City home, surrounded by family.
A long-time resident of South Dakota, Joseph was born September 25, 1954, at Saint Clements Hospital in
Red Bud, Illinois to Allie Marie Mills and William Martin Dreps. Raised in
Waterloo, Illinois, Joseph attended Gibault Catholic High School and ultimately graduated in 1972 as a founding member of the Bulldog Bleacher Bums from Waterloo High School.
Joseph enlisted in the Army directly out of high school and served three years of active duty in Berlin, Germany. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Occupational Medal. Joseph was honorably discharged as a Private First Class.
On October 16, 1976, Joseph married his lifetime partner of 47 years, Cynthia Veath, at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in
Waterloo, Illinois. He continued his education, graduating from Beck Tech Vocational School with a certification in Graphic Arts and from National College with an Associate's Degree in Geophysical Surveying. As the breadwinner of the family, Joseph found work in the oil fields of Wyoming as a roughneck and surveying for Shell Oil Company. He also put his training to use as a printer for Star Printing in Gillette, Wyoming and then again for The Little Print Shop and the Douglas and Rapid City School Districts in
Rapid City, South Dakota.
Joseph was a Lifetime Member of the VFW and a registered member of Friends of the Hunley. Among his many interests, Joseph enjoyed building model aircraft, perfecting the art of bar-b-que, was a lover of music, and was a history trivia buff who liked perfecting his knowledge while playing alongside the contestants on Jeopardy. He appreciated the art of Bob Ross, the humor of the Three Stooges, and had the ability to speak and understand many languages including German, French, Latin, and Spanish.
Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Cynthia (nee Veath) Dreps, his children, Aimee (Jeff) Krueger, Robert Dreps, and Karin (E.J.) Engelhaupt; his grandchildren, Ryan Krueger, Alaina Engelhaupt, Collin Krueger, and Grady Engelhaupt; his niece, Aerica (Greg) Pilkey, his great-nephews, Tristan, Gabriel and Lucas; his cousins, Eric Bradshaw and Dana Fant; his two brothers, Michael Gregory and David Charles; and his numerous brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Allie Marie Dreps and his twin sisters, his father, William Martin Dreps, his uncle, Ted Bradshaw, his uncle and aunt, Don and Nancy Bradshaw, his cousins, Rene` Bradshaw and Shelley Dolphin, and his grandparents.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to:
Disabled Veterans of America – dvnf.org
The
National Kidney Foundation – kidney.org
The American Kidney Fund – kidneyfund.org
Funeral Arrangements are pending.