Britton: The funeral for Gary L. Zuehlke, 63, of Britton will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, 2013, at the First Lutheran Church of Britton, with the Rev. Terrill Sorensen officiating.
Burial will be in the Britton Cemetery.
Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Price Funeral Chapel in Britton.
Gary passed away peacefully at his rural Britton home on Monday evening, Sept. 2, 2013, surrounded by his family.
Gary Leonard Zuehlke was born Sept. 21, 1949, at Britton to Leonard Herman and Elaine Irene (Gunderson) Zuehlke. He grew up on the family farm and attended school in Britton. On Nov. 6, 1949, he was baptized at St. John's Lutheran Church in Britton and confirmed there on May 5, 1963. In 1967, Gary graduated from Britton High School and, in 1971, he graduated from SDSU in Brookings with a bachelor of science degree in animal science.
On Aug. 29, 1970, Gary was united in marriage with Karen Rae Erickson. They made their home on a farm west of Britton and worked for Cliff Reyelts. During the early years of their marriage, Gary served in the Britton Unit of the South Dakota National Guard for a six-year period. Gary was always appreciative of Cliff Reyelts for allowing him the opportunity to get into farming. Following Cliff's death in 1977, Gary took over the operation and expanded to include the Gary Zuehlke Feed Lot, an enterprise he greatly enjoyed.
Gary's community and professional involvement was evident in his serving on the Britton School Board and as a board member of the North Central Livestock Association. He had also been the president of St. John's Lutheran Church at one time. He was a member of the Buckhorn Rodeo, where he acted as their clown for many years and was instrumental in creating the Buckhorn Clown Car. Gary enjoyed music and shared his talents in many areas. He sang for a number of years with the Marshallaires, performed in the Britton Community Theater production of "Forever Plaid" and was a founding member of the Uffda Brudders, where his portrayal of Thorvald brought smiles and chuckles to audience members who were privileged to watch them perform.
At work on the farm, Gary was famous for inventing and building things that would assist with his work. He often assigned others a "Gary Project," many times just to keep potential idle hands at work! In his years on the farm, he enjoyed horses and cattle. Gary loved the farm, the feedlot and his work there. Perhaps the only thing that brought him equal pleasure was time spent at their Roy Lake cabin, watching his family members enjoy themselves. Another favorite pastime was working on and restoring old cars and tractors.
In recent years, as his health declined, his most faithful and constant companion was his cellphone. He kept tabs on everyone, and was up-to-date on all the news because he was never without his cellphone.
Grateful for having shared his life are his wife of 43 years, Karen Zuehlke, of Britton; his three sons: Darin (Julie) Zuehlke and their boys, Jake and Luke, Kurt (Nikki) Zuehlke and their children, Trevor, McKaelyn and Karlie, Brian (Jill) Zuehlke and their children, Jaxon, Daynika and Easton, all of Britton; three brothers: Roger (Mary) Zuehlke, Kent (Cindy) Zuehlke and Tim (Vonnie) Zuehlke, all of Britton; one sister, Karen (Randy) Roehr, of Britton; and his mother-in-law, Imogene Erickson of Langford.
Preceding him in death were his parents; and his father-in-law, Maurice Erickson.
An online guestbook and obituary is available at pricefuneralchapel.net.