Funeral services for Laura M. Carriere, age 98 of Lemmon, will be held at 2:00pm Sunday, February 10, 2008 at Calvary Lutheran Church in Lemmon. Pastor Ken Miller will officiate with burial in Greenhill Cemetery.


LAURA MAURINE DAVIS was born August 22, 1909 at Belle Fourche, SD to Fred G. and Bertha G. (Lund) Davis. Laura was raised on a cattle and sheep ranch north of Belle Fourche and attended the Holcomb School located a ¼ mile from her parent's ranch. She graduated from Belle Fourche High School in 1927 and entered Business College in Rapid City in the fall of 1927. Three months later, she decided she would rather become a teacher and then transferred to Black Hills Teachers College where she earned a teaching certificate. Laura taught in the Valley Creek School north of Harding and then in the Rock Springs School north of Interior. In 1930-1931, she decided to go back to college in Spearfish where she earned a State Certificate which qualified her to teach in town schools. In 1931-1932, she taught in Camp Crook and also met Joe Carriere. They were united in marriage on June 24, 1933 in Belle Fourche, SD.

Laura continued teaching in Camp Crook and Buffalo. Laura and Joe had three sons, Keith, Curtis, and Dennis. In 1959, the Carriere's moved to Lemmon where Laura continued teaching for the next 16 years until her retirement. Over the years, she attended summer school and took education and correspondence courses from BHSC and Northern State College. In 1968, she obtained her B.S. Degree in Elementary Education from BHSC.


On October 10, 1962, Joe was killed instantly in an automobile accident. Laura continued living in her home in Lemmon. Since her retirement, she has kept busy as Perkins County Easter Seal chairman, serving on the Hospital Auxiliary, on the CLCW, and with the Thrift Shop. She enjoyed gardening, quilting, crocheting afghan's, and having coffee with her friends. She has traveled quite extensively by airplane since her retirement and has visited numerous states. She also traveled to Europe with her family, where she spent time in Brussels, Belgium; Metz, France; Switzerland; Italy; Germany; Denmark; Sweden; and Oslo, Norway. While in Oslo, they went to Docca from where her mother immigrated to the United States, then to Bayeux, France; the ancestral home of the Carriere family.


Due to her failing health, Laura entered Five Counties Nursing Home on March 12, 2002. She passed from this life there on Thursday morning, February 7, 2008 at the age of 98 years, 5 months, 15 days.


Keeping her in their fondest memories are her 3 sons and daughters-in-law, Keith and Phyllis Carriere, Manchester, CT; Curtis Carriere, Rapid City, SD; Dennis and Linda Carriere, Rhinelander, WI; 6 grandchildren, Kevin, Renee, Bryan, Kelley, David, Jason; 9 great grandchildren, Alexis, Keith, Trent, Taylor, Tory, Douglas, Katherine, Felix, and Uma; 2 brothers, Harold Davis, Coeur D'Alene, ID; Chester Davis, Burlington, WI; and 1 sister, Iva Skoglund, Springfield, MO.


Laura was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, 1 sister, Alice Huff; 1 brother, Cyril Davis.