George H. Lafferty, 95, of Dupree, SD passed away peacefully at his home in Dupree, SD on Wednesday, February 6, 2019.

A Gathering of Friends and Family, all are invited, will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 14, 2019 at the Faith Area Memorial Chapel of Evanson Jensen Funeral Homes in Faith, SD.

Interment with Full Military Honors will be held on Friday, February 15, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.

George was born on October 4, 1923 to Theron and Laura (Pidcock) Lafferty in Dupree, SD.  He grew up on a homestead south of Dupree and attended the White Swan School from 1929 to 1939.  Being seven years younger than his brother Jack, he played much of the time alone.  He would go over to Frame's and spend time with his best friend Jim.  After graduating from the 8 ^th grade, George started his work career, working for farmers and ranchers in the area.  He worked for Wally Knight (where he learned to run a Caterpillar Dozer) as well as Samuelson, Budahl, Holmes and Trents to name a few.

George was inducted into the US Army on October 29, 1943, serving in World War II.  He was a construction machine operator, building landing strips for airplanes in places such as New Guinea, Ryukyus and southern Philippines.  He was honorably discharged January 17, 1946.

Upon returning from the service, he worked building dams with Jim Frame and was the Highway Superintendent for Ziebach County.  George went on to build dams and do dirt work by himself until he retired.

On September 29, 1979, George married the love of his life, Lila Veit.  They raised their four children, Traci, Milo, Lorrin and Laura in Dupree.  George will always be remembered as someone who never met a stranger.  George loved road-trips and drove anyone who needed a ride.

George is survived by his wife, Lila, four children, Traci (Albert) Arpan, Milo (Megan) Lafferty, Lorrin (Kenya) Lafferty, Laura (Steven) Spanbauer, 11 grandchildren, JoRae and Antoine Arpan, Shawnee, Sheyenne and Sha'Kinley Lafferty, Travis, Logan, Riley and Carlie Lafferty and Tristan and Lainee Spanbauer.

George was preceded in death by his father Theron, mother Laura, sister Anna, brothers Harold and Jack Sharpe and brother Ray Gifford Lafferty.