Adelia "Dee Dee" Merry

Adelia “Dee Dee” Merry, 87, of Dell Rapids, passed away Monday, July 25, 2011, at Terrace Manor Nursing Home in Dell Rapids.

Funeral services will begin at 2 pm Thursday, July 28, 2011, at the United Methodist Church in Dell Rapids. Burial will be in the Dell Rapids Cemetery.

Visitation will begin at 2 pm Wednesday, July 27th with the family present from 5-7 pm at the Minnehaha Funeral Home in Dell Rapids.

Adelia Lucile Erickson was born September 25, 1923 to parents Robert and Jennie (Otterness) Erickson at Trent, SD. She attended eight grades at Pleasant Prairie District #68 School and graduated from Dell Rapids High School in 1941.

Dee Dee married Milton “Pin” Merry Febryary 22, 1944. They farmed in Logan Township until moving to Dell Rapids in 1994. The couple moved to Orchard Hills in 2007.

Dee Dee worked at Northwest Bank for three years, Stone Mink Farm for ten years and the election polls in Logan Township for over twenty years. She joined the United Methodist Church in Dell Rapids in 1946 and was an active member. Dee Dee was one of the church organists for fifty years and played for the pastors at their nursing home services. She was active in the United Methodist Women, holding offices at the local level and the Southern District. She also belonged to Jolly Workers Extension Club and Paint and Palette Club. Dee Dee looked forward to the age of twenty-one because it was the legal age to vote.

Grateful for having shared her life are her husband, “Pin”, Dell Rapids; son, Stuart (Janice) Merry, Garrison, ND; daughter, Toni Lynne Poor Bear, Seattle, WA; fourteen grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends.

Dee Dee was preceded in death by her parents; son, Gordon Arthur; and daughter, Bonita Louise.