Georgene E. Conley age 88 of Belle Fourche, died Friday October 17th, 2008 at the Spearfish Regional Hospital.

The funeral service will be held 11am Friday (October 24th) at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Belle Fourche, with Rev. Jean Helmer and Rev. Jeri Behringer officiating. Visitation will be held 4 to 7 pm Thursday, with a public prayer service at 7pm, at Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be held 10am Saturday at Pine Slope Cemetery in Belle Fourche.

In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to the First Congregational United Church of Christ.

Georgene E. Kibler was born March 10, 1920 in Battle Creek Nebraska. She was the daughter of Chester Stanley and Eva Rae (Haight) Kibler. Georgene grew up in Merriman Nebraska where she graduated from high school in 1938. She attended Junior College in Scottsbluff, Nebraska for two years, but her education was interrupted by the effects of World War II. On June 28th, 1942 she was married to Harry E. "Gene" Conley at the little Methodist Church in Merriman. Immediately following their marriage, Gene entered the U.S. Army and was sent to Aberdeen SD for radio training. Georgene took the same training as a civilian and they moved to Sacramento CA where they spent the remainder of the war. During this time Gene was at Camp Kohler in Signal Corp training and Georgene cleaned and repaired radio equipment returned from the Pacific battle fields, and later sent to state side camps for training purposes.

Georgene and Gene spent several years in South Dakota and Nebraska while Gene worked as an agent for the C and NW Railroads. In October of 1950 the Conley family became "3" with the adoption of their son whom they named Richard Eugene. He was an added joy for the couple. In 1956 they settled in Belle Fourche SD where they established Conley Insurance and Accounting, a business they owned and operated for the next 30 years. After Gene's death in 1986, Georgene sold the business and retired.

Georgene always had a talent for writing and she joined the SD Cowboy Poets. She became a reciter as well, and she loved to entertain groups with her original poetry. She published a booklet of her poetry that has been expanded and printed at least four times.

She was a member of the First Congregational UCC and she loved her church family. She enjoyed being part of the church Circle, the Lamplighters, the Northern Hills Quilters, and M.A.D.D. She loved her many friends and will be greatly missed.

Pleased to have shared her life is her son, Richard of Belle Fourche; granddaughter, Melissa (Terry) Mattson of Gillette WY; 3 great grandsons, Eden, Aninias, and Urion Mattson all of Gillette WY; and a special niece Eleanor Krutina of Omaha Nebraska.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Gene Conley; and sister, Frances Drengson.