The funeral for Minnie Geigle, 94, of Strasburg, N.D., formerly of Pollock, S.D., will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at Pollock Lutheran Church, Pollock, with the Rev. Ramona Hayes officiating. Burial will be in Kvernes Cemetery south of Pollock.
She died Thursday, Aug. 15, 2013, at the Strasburg Care Center, Strasburg.
Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013, at Pollock Lutheran Church, Pollock, where a prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Visitation will continue for one hour before the service Wednesday at the church.
Minnie Irene Geigle was born July 7, 1919, on her parents' farm south of Pollock. She was the daughter of Arndt and Elizabeth McCallum Ankerson. She grew up on the farm with her two brothers, Arthur and Martin, and attended grade school at the Hillside School. She went to the Mound City High School for two years, and then completed high school in Pollock, graduating from Pollock High School in 1937.
Minnie attended Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen and received her one-year teaching degree. Beginning in fall 1939, she taught two years at Hillside School, one year at the Gale School, and then five more years at Hillside. She taught again, at Hillside and then Gale, from 1953-56.
Minnie married Oscar Geigle on Feb. 2, 1947, at Spring Creek Lutheran Church in Pollock. They lived on the Raymond and Nellie Beed farm until 1956, when they moved to the former Martin Hanson farm. In addition to her years as a school teacher, Minnie helped Oscar on the farm and raised their two children, Robert (Dec. 23, 1947) and Orland (Oct. 20, 1951).
Oscar and Minnie remained on the farm, even after Oscar semi-retired from active farming in 1983. They purchased a house in Pollock in 1997 and were just getting ready to move in when Oscar died on Oct. 31. Minnie moved in later that year, and resided there until spring 2004, when a fall, resulting in a broken femur bone and other complications, meant that she had to move elsewhere. Following her surgery, she moved to Golden Living Center in Mobridge. After a year and a half of rehabilitation there, she went to the Prairie Sunset Village in Mobridge. She moved to the Strasburg Care Center on Aug. 1, 2011, where she resided until the time of her death.
Minnie was a 4-H leader for several years. She was an active member of Pollock Lutheran Church, holding various positions in the Church Women organization and serving as church treasurer. After moving to Pollock, she was a member of the Sr. Thursday Study Club and the Birthday Club. She was also a member of the Pollock American Legion Auxiliary, where she held several offices, including president. Minnie also wrote the Gale-Hillside News for the Pollock Pioneer and later the Prairie Pioneer for many years.
She is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law: Robert and Nancy Geigle of Green Bay, Wis., and Orland and Waynette Geigle of Pollock; three grandchildren: Shawn and Danielle Geigle of Baltic, S.D., Kristin and Russ Schick of Hazelton, N.D., and Danlyn and Jared Vander Wal of Bismarck, N.D.; seven great-grandchildren: Addison and Kinley Geigle, Summer, Emma, Brady and Trevor Schick and Teagen Vander Wal; one brother, Martin Ankerson of Herreid; two sisters-in-law, Helen Ankerson of Sioux Falls, and Margaret Geigle of Strasburg; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Minnie was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Oscar; brother, Arthur; and sister-in-law, Marian Ankerson.
You may share memories and condolences with the family at the Myers Funeral Home website: myersfh.com.