View Darlenes Funeral Service

At sunrise on Thursday, May 6th, 2021, Darlene Ila Kolb (91) was taken to her heavenly home by her precious Lord and Savior.

Darlene was born on June 28, 1929, the first of four children to Gerhard and Minnie (Beskow) Giese in Watertown, SD.  She grew up on the farm of her parents, daily helping her father hand-milk cows.  They separated the cream, which they sold and fed the skimmed milk to "skimmer" calves.

Every summer, Darlene helped her Dad with the labor-intensive harvest of wheat and oats, gathering the bundles into shocks, which would later be hauled to the thrashing machine with the horse-drawn wagons. Darlene knew and respected this hard work from an early age and expected the same from her children.

She was baptized and confirmed at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church of rural Mazeppa Township.  She attended rural grade school, and graduated high school from Northwestern Lutheran Academy at Mobridge, SD. Following graduation, she attended Northern State Teacher's College in Aberdeen, SD where she received a short course teaching certificate for elementary schools. After college, she returned to live on her parent's farm while she taught at Lura #5 township, a one-room school, where she always looked forward to Fridays when Ernest "buzzed" the school with his plane, alerting her he had arrived for the weekend.

June 13, 1949 Darlene married Ernest Kolb, her high school sweetheart in a double wedding with lifelong friends Calvin Frey and Dorothy Kriesel at St. John's Lutheran Church, Mazeppa, SD. The first year of married life was spent living with Ernest's parents on the Kolb family farm south of Bison.  Ernest partnered with his Dad while Darlene taught at the Reder School.  The following summer, they moved a house 1.5 miles east of the Kolb Family Farm, along Antelope Creek, to develop their own ranch.  To this union, five children were born: Marlene, Jeffrey, Cheryl, Brian and David.

Darlene settled into "West River" life and grew to love the wide-open spaces, farming and ranching. She helped Ernest in the fields, summer fallowing and putting up hay, often with the children playing with their toys in the old '48 Chevy car (the babysitter) at the end of the field.

Darlene had a passion for farm life and was involved in every aspect of it. During calving season, she could be counted on for heifer night-checks, but when morning came, she was up and ready for the hustle and bustle of the day. Ernest and Darlene worked hand-in-hand from morning until the time they went to bed, doing chores, milking cows, working in the fields and raising their children. At branding time, she was in the middle of the action meticulously recording the tag numbers.

She always raised a large garden filled with vegetables for fall canning and countless family meals from scratch. She was an exceptional cook known for her legendary homemade buns and caramel rolls.  Her pies (especially chocolate chip) were a special request of many, and if you were in the yard at mealtime, you were a guest at her table.  To all that knew Darlene, it was no secret her love and passion for chickens. That affection continued throughout her entire life.

Darlene was a life-long member of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bison, teaching Sunday school and had an active leadership role in the Ladies Aid.  Darlene's dedication to being the best mother to her children was secondary only to her support and loyalty to Ernest.  She insisted on piano lessons, encouraged their schoolwork, supported their education, but prioritized their memory work for Sunday school and confirmation class.

Shortly after Ernest's death on December 17, 2015, Darlene moved into an apartment at Edgewood Senior Living in Pierre, SD.  She admitted it was a wonderful place to live, but she clearly missed the country life of her beloved "West River".  She always anticipated the arrival of the weekly Bison Courier and asked daily for current news on what her boys were doing. Darlene's heart never left the ranch.

Grateful for having shared in her life are her children: Marlene Kemmet, Minot, ND; Jeffrey (Pam) Kolb, Prairie City, SD; Cheryl (Ken) Brull, Pierre, SD; Brian (Kay) Kolb, Prairie City, SD and David Kolb, Bison, SD.  She was blessed with 13 Grandchildren: Marlene's children: Kimberly and Lindell; Jeff's children: Jennifer, Alyssa, Eric; Cheryl's child, Dexter; Brian's children:  Leslie, Ginger, Cherry; and David's children:  Deaundra, Shawna, Chantel, Dustin; 20 Great Grandchildren; Brothers: Donald Giese, Mobridge, SD; Darwin Giese, Watertown, SD; Sister: Vonnie (Mike) Reilly, Watertown, SD and Sister-in-law Betty Kolb, Sturgis, SD.

Darlene was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ernest; infant grandson, Michael Kolb; Sister-in-law's: Lois Giese and Barbara Giese.

The Funeral Services for Darlene Kolb will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 14, 2021 at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bison, SD with Pastor William Russow, officiating.  Following a time of fellowship and luncheon at the American Legion, burial will take place at the Date Cemetery Southwest of Bison, SD.

The service will be livestreamed on the website www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com and going to Darlene's obituary and clicking on "view funeral service".

Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 ^th followed by a friends and family service at 7:00 p.m. at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established.