William L. Delay

William Lee DeLay, 83, passed away peacefully among family members Sunday morning, February 1st, 2015, at home in Parker, SD. Funeral services will be at 11:00am Friday, February 6, 2015 at First Presbyterian Church, Parker with burial with full military rites at Hills of Rest Memorial Park, Sioux Falls. Visitation with family present will be from 6-8:00pm Thursday evening at the Hofmeister Jones Funeral Home, Parker. Bill was born in Sioux Falls on December 16, 1931, to Doris (Andrew) and John Thomas DeLay. He started working for the Lacey Farm in eastern Sioux Falls when he was 12, backing up the mules and wagons full of potatoes, and was one of the proud feisty Riverside kids. He started working for John Morrell's when he was 17 in 1950, and retired after 54 years at the 'ole pig house'. They honored Bill at his 50th anniversary with a plant wide party and presented him with a much loved pontoon boat. He loved gardening and wore a t-shirt that said 'real men grow roses', hunting, fishing and camping, and his favorite vacations were to the Black Hills. The biggest Blessing he received besides his Faith, was the joy of his family. Bill was activated for the Korean War May 18, 1952, and served his time at Colorado Springs, CO, and Fort Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, and was discharged from the 147th Field Artillery, SD Army National Guard in 1956. He was an Elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Parker, member of the American Legion of Parker being Past Commander for many years, and a member of The Veterans of Foreign Wars of Parker. He married Lovella Mauseth in Colorado Springs in 1951, and then to Bessie Frybarger in Sioux Falls in 1955. He is survived by his children, Lyn (Ron) Moulder, Shreveport, LA; Ginny Stevens, Dallas, TX; Mona (Mathew) Bultena, Lennox, SD; Becky Wolfe, Waukee, IA; Bill (Carmel) DeLay, Parker, SD; Bernie (Peggy) DeLay, Lake Oswego, OR; Jim (Cheryl) Carlson, Hobbs, NM; Janice Carlson and Jolene Carlson, both of Oxnard, CA. And a sister Mary Ann Kjergaard, Sioux Falls, sister-in-law Lila DeLay, Flandreau; Bessie DeLay, Sioux Falls, and special friend, Sandy Carlson, Parker, and many many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Preceding him in death were his parents John and Doris DeLay, two infant boys, brothers Jack, Jim, Charles and Rex, and sisters Ardith Roelfsema, Beulah Parks, Inez Gaugh, and Eunice Allen.