Joel Charles Rickenbach

HOT SPRINGS - Joel Charles Rickenbach, 84, of Hot Springs, died November 8, 2003, at the Chadron Community Hospital in Chadron, Nebraska. Visitation will be held from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 12, 2003, at McColley's Chapels of the Hills in Hot Springs. Funeral Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, November 13, 2003, also at McColley's Chapels of the Hills in Hot Springs, with Pastor David Anderson officiating. Burial will be held at the Oelrichs Cemetery. Joel was born on November 12, 1918, in Hot Springs, South Dakota, to Levi and Ada (Ott) Rickenbach. He was raised on his father's homestead north east of Oelrichs. He played football and basketball in high school, graduating from the Oelrichs High School in 1936. He later attended Chadron State College for one year, where he also played football. Joel ranched with his father. He married Rose Alice Hulburt of Caputa, South Dakota, on February 27, 1942. They had four children: Joel S., Ronald, Mary and Lee. They were married for 62 years. They ranched at the home place northeast of Oelrichs until moving to Oelrichs in 1999. Joel was a member of the Oelrichs United Methodist Church, the Farm Bureau, Stockgrowers, and served on the Oelrichs School Board for several years. He was an active member of the Republican Party. He served in the South Dakota House of Representatives for 10 years. He was appointed to the State Water Board by Governor William Janklow. He was a member of the Pioneer Cooperative Grazing Association. As a boy he was a member of the Horsehead Ranchers 4-H Club, and as an adult he was a leader of the Horsehead Ranchers 4-H Club. Joel was proud to be a rancher and a cowboy all of his life. He was a helpful and considerate neighbor and considered himself to have the best of neighbors. Survivors include: his wife Rose of Oelrichs; sons: Rev. Joel S. and Ann Rickenbach of Oelrichs, Ronald Rickenbach of Oelrichs, Rev. Lee and Sharen Rickenbach of Bellevue, Ohio; daughter: Mary and Merle Seidel of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota; sisters: Velma DeVries of Belvidere, South Dakota, Elsie and Dr. Vern Kunze of Tumwater, Washington; sister-in-law True Rickenbach of Oelrichs; 12 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. Joel was preceded in death by his brothers, Max and Don, his sister-in-law Jean, and brother-in-law, Wally DeVries. A memorial has been established in Joel's memory to benefit the Oelrichs United Methodist Church. Arrangements have been placed in the care of McColley's Chapels of the Hills in Hot Springs.