Mass of Christian Burial for Clifford Seidel, 79, lifelong Bison, SD area farmer and rancher will be Saturday morning, January 27, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Bison, with Fr. Brian Fawcett and Fr. Arnold Kari, officiating. Burial will follow at the Bison Cemetery. Visitations will be from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 26 at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD and one hour prior to the Funeral Mass on Saturday morning at the church. A Wake service will be on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Church in Bison.

CLIFFORD ERVIN SEIDEL was born on July 16, 1927 near Meadow, SD to Phillip and Elizabeth (Mattis) Seidel. He grew up on the family farm, attended grade school and two years of High School at Meadow Central School. Cliff graduated from Lemmon High School in 1945. He worked for L.B. Boorman at the Lemmon Leader Newspaper printing office while going to school. He began farming while he was still in high school.

Cliff was united in marriage to Dorothy Kari at St. James Church in Drew, SD on January 26, 1948. They made their home on the farm in an 8 by 28 foot trailer house. To this union three sons were born, Ronald, Robert and Richard. They spent a few months running the Bixby Store in anticipation of the Federal Dam being planned at Bixby. When the dam project was changed to be built at Shadehill, SD, they returned to the farm east of Bison, SD and raised their family. Cliff's life was farming and ranching. He truly enjoyed all aspects involved in having a successful operation. He particularly enjoyed the state fairs and machinery expos.

In 1967, Cliff and Dorothy built a new home on the farm. When they retired in 1986, they moved into Bison. They enjoyed taking many bus trips and later traveled a great deal in their small RV. One of the most memorable trips was when they motored to Alaska with Henry and Ava Hoff in their motor-home.

Cliff served on township boards, was a founder and director of the South Dakota Livestock Production Records, an active member of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church as a Trustee and Council Officer, treasurer of and organizer of the Boy Scouts in Bison, was a director at Bison Grain since 1965, and was a promoter and driver of the first Senior Citizens Bus Service in Bison.

Cliff passed away at the St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, ND on January 24, 2007.

Grateful for having shared in his life are his wife, Dorothy, of Bison; sons, Ron (Nancy), Meadow, SD, Robert (Marilyn), Sioux Falls, SD and Richard (Julie), of Bison; sisters, Shirley Biel, of Newark, OH and Pearl Penor, of Rapid City, SD; grandchildren, Sondra (Dean) Iverson, Dana (Bruce) Hendrickson, Chris (Kortney), Brad (Kristen), Erin, Molly, Beth and Madelyn Seidel; step grandchildren, Jarvis, Josh and Jhonda Bruhn; great grandchildren, Lindsey, Logan and Layton Hendrickson, Alex and Matt Iverson and Kahlea Seidel and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceding Cliff in death were his parents, Phillip and Elizabeth Seidel and one brother, Ray Seidel.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted with the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD. A memorial will be established by the family and condolences to them can be sent through our website at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com