Gerald “Gerry” F. Ikast, 89, died Aug. 31, 2018, at the Brookings hospital.

Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Abundant Life Church in Brookings with the Rev. Joe Ganahl officiating.  Burial will take place following the service at United Cemetery in rural Arlington.  Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings. Eidsness Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Gerald “Gerry” F. Ikast was born June 5, 1929, at the family farm in rural Arlington to Carl and Marie (Nielsen) Ikast. 

Gerry attended Quinn School, District No. 13 and graduated from Arlington High School, where he enjoyed singing in a male quartet. He began working on the farm at an early age and was working alongside the men at age 12. After high school he continued to farm with his dad.

 On Feb. 14, 1951, he married his sweetheart, Audrey Lee, at Lake Preston after meeting her at Quinn School community club while she was a young teacher there.  They enjoyed 65 wonderful years of marriage until Audrey died in 2016.  

Gerry served in the Army from 1954 to 1956 as a heavy equipment operator at Fort Lewis and Yakima, Washington.  They returned to South Dakota and made their home on their farm north of Arlington.  He also worked for a short time doing road grading and maintenance in Badger Township. Gerry and Audrey retired from farming in 1999 and moved to Brookings.

 Together, Gerry and Audrey dedicated their lives to Christ at the annual Church of God state camp meeting near Volga.  Gerry taught Sunday school for many years at First Church of God, now Abundant Life Church in Brookings, and served on many church boards.

Gerry served as a board member with Kingsbury Electric Cooperative for 14 years. He was a founding member of the Kingbrook Rural Water System and served on the board for many years. He also served as treasurer of the Badger Township Board. He was appointed for two terms on the Farmers Home Administration board of Kingsbury and Miner counties. When Gerry and Audrey moved to Brookings, Gerry became a member of Golden K Kiwanis Club. 

The week after moving to Brookings, he took a job at Garst/AgriPro working with soybeans. Later he became the groundskeeper for Twin City Fan.

 Over the years, Gerry raised a variety of crops and livestock, but he took special pride in his herd of Angus cattle.  He had a wonderful sense of humor, and his grandchildren often remarked that watching Grandpa laugh at his own jokes was just as entertaining as the jokes were.

 He is survived by his daughters, Melanie (Wayne) Fischer of Arlington, Janet (Bryon) Carsrud of Brookings, and Gerelyn (David) Moberg of White; 10 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; a brother-in-law, Roy Lee of Mesa, Arizona and one sister-in-law, Jackie Lee of De Smet. 

He was preceded in death by his wife, Audrey; and his five sisters, Gloria, Delores, Grace, Verna, and Ramona; and an infant grandson, Jonathan Moberg.