Earl C. Riswold

Earl Clifford Riswold, age 78, of Baltic, South Dakota, passed away on Sunday, December 21, 2008, at his home. Funeral services will begin at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, December 27, 2008, at East Nidaros Lutheran Church, rural Baltic. Visitation will begin at 2:00 P.M. Friday, with the family present from 5-7:00 P.M. at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Baltic.

Earl was born on December 24, 1929, to Alfred and Bernice (Sundt) Riswold on the family homestead in Sverdrup Township, rural Baltic. He grew up on the Riswold Homestead and was baptized and confirmed at East Nidaros Lutheran Church. He attended Kringen Country School #4 outside of Baltic. After his education, Earl farmed with his dad until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1954. He was honorably discharged in 1956 at the rank of corporal.

Earl returned to Baltic and married Ella Huber on March 22, 1958, at Zion Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls; and they made their home on the family farm. He continued to farm there until 1984. Following his retirement from farming, Earl performed ground maintenance at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls and helped other local farmers. Earl was a member of East Nidaros Lutheran Church and the Baltic American Legion. He was a former member of the Baltic Farmer’s Elevator Board and the Silver Creek Watershed Board.

Earl took great pride in his ancestral farm and the land that gave him and his family so much. Everything had to be “green” – land and machinery. Earl was very particular, though, from the stacking of hay bales to the planting of crops and especially mowing the lawn. He loved taking care of the livestock and many special dogs over the years. He enjoyed hunting and for years would make yearly trips to the Black Hills to hunt deer. But above all, Earl loved his family. “Earl’s girls” were a source of great pride for him throughout his life. Although he was a man of few words, Earl would share a story now and then of his life experiences. Whenever you saw Earl, you could be sure that he would be wearing a plaid shirt with a cap on his head.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Ella of Baltic; daughters: Lorna (Scott) Nohava Johnston, Aberdeen; Veloy (Dan) Reddick, Belgrade, MT; Rosalie (Ryne) Riswold-Brende, Renner and Dr. Yvonne (Matthew) DeWitte, Sioux Falls; nine grandchildren: Doug and Katie Nohava; Sadie, Logan and Lilly Reddick; Shalece, Dylan and Chantel Brende; and Gilbert DeWitte; two sisters, Inez Wilson, Dell Rapids and Julette (Kenneth) Posey, Erick, OK and many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Bernielle Riswold.