Services for Naomi Rose Larson, 92, Aberdeen, will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10, 2012, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church with Pastor Deb Grismer officiating. Burial will be at Riverside Memorial Park, Aberdeen. Naomi died Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, at the Aberdeen Health and Rehab.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday with family present at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, 1111 S. Main St.
Naomi Rose Schilder was born in Grinnell, Iowa, on March 21, 1920. She was the first of five children to Harry and Velma (Gooding) Schilder. In 1925, Harry's father sold out his stakes in central Iowa and brought his family to farm in Faulkton County, S.D. She traveled by train with her mother; brother, Wayne; and baby sister, Avis, arriving at the station in Burkmere, S.D. Her sister, Lola, was born only months after the family's arrival. They lived in several locations in the region before settling near Norbeck. Her baby sister, Arlys, was born 1935. Naomi graduated from Faulkton high school in 1938 and then did her part to support her family so her brother and sisters could continue their education after high school. After earning her teaching certificate from Madison in 1940, she began teaching in rural South Dakota schools.
In December 1943, she married Perry Peterson and moved to Edmunds County where she continued teaching and caring for their home. They adopted 6-week old Marsha. In 1959, Perry died after suffering a heart attack. Naomi continued living on the farm and started driving into Aberdeen to teach at Lincoln Elementary until her retirement in 1984. After Marsha enrolled in the NSU teaching program, the two moved to Aberdeen where Naomi bought a small house. As Marsha prepared to leave for Rapid City to begin her teaching career, Naomi was beginning another stage in her life by marrying Alvin Larson on Feb. 18, 1972. For the next 27 years, the happy couple shared their lives with their kids, grandkids, and great-grand kids. They traveled all over the U.S. and even made it to Sweden when they weren't visiting with friends and family throughout South Dakota or camping and fishing at Pactola Lake in the Black Hills. After Al passed away Dec. 28, 1999, she split her time between Aberdeen and Rapid City until her death Dec. 7, 2012. She was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Aberdeen.
Naomi loved crafts, traveling and spending time with others. She used to love setting up a booth to share her crafts with the public at the senior citizens' bazaars which were held each November at the Rapid City Civic Center. Her crafts included crocheting afghans, making dolls, canning and baking. She was involved in many community organizations including the Birthday club, Do Good Extension Club, the Honored Teachers of South Dakota and other teacher organizations. She kept in touch with her relatives and loved to visit with family and friends. She enjoyed sending and receiving cards, still receiving word from students who appreciated her decades after they sat in her classroom. We tend to remember the shocking and exciting parts of life, but Naomi made a lasting impression on everyone she knew through simple and unwavering kindness and love.
Grateful for having shared Naomi's life are her daughter, Marsha Ring, Rapid City; son, Roger Larson, Faulkton; daughter, Darlene Carr; 16 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; sister, Avis Niederbaumer; sister-in-law, Lovey Schilder; several nieces and nephews.
Naomi was preceded in death by both husbands; parents, son-in-law, Loren Ring; grandson, Bryan Larson; brother, Warren (Wayne) Schilder; sisters, Lola Darley, Arlys Gullickson; several brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
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