Arnold Leo Pierret

Arnold L. Pierret, age 75, of Garretson, died after a lifelong battle with rheumatoid arthritis on Thursday, December 2, 2010, at Palisade Manor in Garretson. Funeral services will begin at 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, December 7, 2010, at Zion Lutheran Church in Garretson. Visitation with the family present will be from 6-8:00 P.M. Monday, at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Garretson.

Arnold Leo Pierret was born March 17, 1935 on a farm, in the Garretson area, to Leo Pierret and Martha (Dubbelde) Pierret.
He grew up on farms around the Garretson area. He went to the Mt Pleasant country school for the first 3 years and then continued his education at the Garretson public school. He helped his dad farm while going to school. Due to his dad’s poor health he was unable to finish high school because he went to work on the family farm. When Arnold was 19 he went to Mayo Clinic and they told him he had rheumatoid arthritis.

He married Lorna Jean “Jeanne” Pierret on June 12, 1958. The couple spent time in Springfield, South Dakota where he attended Springfield College to earn a degree in architectural drafting. They soon moved to Omaha, Nebraska where Arnold took a job as a draftsman. One of his projects was to design the 10th street viaduct in Sioux Falls, SD but instead he moved back to Sherman to take over his father-in-laws farm. He had many part time jobs while farming full time. He drove truck moving the pickles from Garretson to the pickle factory in Shakopee, MN. He also worked road construction on the Interstate 90 project.
Arnold and Jeanne lived in a trailer house on Jeanne’s dad’s farm. As their family grew they needed a bigger house so they moved into the town of Sherman SD. Due to his arthritis he was forced to retire at an early age of 55. They lived in Sherman until 1992 when he bought a house and moved to Garretson, SD where he spent the rest of his life. His son Troy was always close by to take him to his doctor appointments and help him with his medical needs at home.

Grateful for having shared his life are his two sons; Randy (Rhonda) Pierret of Sherman and Troy Pierret of Garretson; two grandchildren: Brandi (Jerod) Matthews of Dell Rapids and Mark Pierret; brothers: Donald (Linda) Pierret and Kenneth (Mary Ellen) Pierret, both of Garretson and sisters: Sister Madonna Pierret of Aberdeen and Marlene (Donald) Fiegen of La Crescent, MN. He was preceded in death by his wife Jeanne and his parents.