Dale Groepper passed away in hospice at home on Sept. 12, 2024, after a 3 1/2 year battle with lung and liver cancer.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Visitation is from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, with a Liturgical Wake Service at 6:30 p.m. at Rude’s Funeral Home.
Dale was born to Walter and Esther (Presuhn) Groepper in Remson, Iowa, on Sept. 1, 1951, the youngest of five children. In 1958, Walter and Esther moved their family to the Elkton/Aurora, SD, area. Dale attended Elkton schools, graduating on May 23, 1969. He was married to Ginny (Virginia Knuth) on July 17, 1971, and they settled in Brookings, SD. They had two children Chris and Jennie.
For over 40 years, Dale worked in construction. The majority of that time for V.J. Ahlers Construction, first for Virgil Ahlers and then Mark Whaley, until his retirement on Sept. 1, 2016.
Dale enjoyed fishing, hunting and gardening. He enjoyed following SDSU’s basketball and football teams, and watching NFL games, particularly cheering on the Detroit Lions.
Dale joined St. Thomas More on July 1, 2022. His parting words, “One thing I will say is enjoy life as much as you can. It goes faster than you think.”
Grateful for having shared his life are his wife of 53 years, Ginny; son Chris (Sarah Case), Ellensburg, WA; grandson Forrest Collins, Bellingham, WA; daughter Jennie Groepper, St. Paul, MN; brother Denny Groepper, Greeley, CO; sister Jan (Stan) Lauseng, Annoka, MN. In-laws; Kathy (Randy) Larson, Armour, SD; Duane Ahlers, Brookings, SD; Dan (Angela Deiterman) Knuth, Elkton, SD; Traci (Mike) Johnson, Brookings, SD; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Marcene Groepper and Gayle Lindner, brother-in-law Ron Lindner; mother and father-in-law, Don and Jean Knuth, and sister-in-law Donna Ahlers.
Condolences may be sent to the family through www.rudesfuneralhome.com.
