Arthur William Vortherms

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Arthur W. Vortherms, 78, of Dell Rapids passed away Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at his home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church in Dell Rapids, SD with interment to follow at the St. Mary Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation with the family present will be from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Friday, August 28th at Minnehaha Funeral Home in Dell Rapids with the Christian Wake Service to follow at 5:00 p.m.

Arthur W. Vortherms was born on April 22, 1937 in Dell Rapids, SD the son of Bernard and Rosa (Ahlers) Vortherms. He graduated from Dell Rapids St. Mary High School in 1955. Following high school, he attended St. John’s University in St. Cloud in 1956 and then enlisted in the United States Army from 1957 – 1963. He married Judith Roti August 22, 1964 in Dell Rapids and they began their life together on the family farm. In addition to farming, Art drove truck for local freight companies Hyman Freightways and Roadway Express, retiring from Roadway in 2000. After retirement he worked part time at the Dell Rapids Elevator, Lodmell-Schaefer, and doing volunteer work for St. Mary Parish.

Art’s family was everything to him and many of his favorite times were spent hosting family suppers on Sunday nights with his grandchildren playing baseball in the backyard. As the grandchildren grew and began playing organized sports, he cherished going to all of their baseball, softball, football, basketball and volleyball games until poor health prohibited his attendance. He was a St. Mary Cardinal fan for life. Art also enjoyed camping with his family when the children were young, coaching his son’s baseball teams, doing crossword and Sudoku puzzles, playing cards and cribbage, letting his grandkids beat him at checkers, and upon retirement, building his own lawnmower which he took great pride in.

Those left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Tammy (Robert) Michel; son, John (Laura) Vortherms; daughter, Shelly (Jon) Kubly, all of Dell Rapids; his 10 grandchildren, Jodi (Josh) Spaans, Kari (Jared) Hettinger, Casey (Chelsey) Michel, Jason and Kelly Michel, Derrick and Kaitlyn Vortherms and Danielle, Austin and Brandon Kubly; great-grandchildren, Callie, Carter and Camden Spaans and Blake Hettinger. He is also survived by brothers and sisters-in-law, Jackie Wold, Jim and Donna Roti, David and Carol Roti and Arlin and Suzan Johnson. He was preceded in death by his wife, Judith; parents; sister, Rosemary Vortherms; brother, Bernard Vortherms (who died at birth) and several brothers and sisters-in-law.