Funeral services for Leo Brockel, age 78 of McIntosh, will be held 2:00 pm Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at the McIntosh Baptist Church. Rev. Audie Brockel and Rev. Bud Ling will officiate with burial in the McIntosh Cemetery.


A family service will be held at 6:00 pm on Tuesday evening at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon.


Special music will be provided by Corrine Arnold, Violet Geigle, and Levi Brockel.


Serving as casketbearers are Wesley Arnold, Eugene Geigle, Levi and Zebedee Brockel, Danny Hughes, and Daniel Van Zee. Ushers are Marvin Bertsch and Bernard Moser.


LEO BROCKEL was born February 16, 1932 to Carl and Helen (Reichert) Brockel on their cattle ranch south of Bison, SD. He attended grade school and high school in Bison. Leo was responsible for the record keeping for his and his father's registered Hereford ranch. Leo lost his hand in a corn picker accident in 1952. Leo met and married Marilyn Kellogg of Timber Lake, a rural school teacher, in 1955.


Leo began his higher education at Northern State College in 1957 where he received a one year teaching certificate. His first teaching position was at the Ellingson School, twenty-five miles south of Hettinger, ND. Leo operated the Bookmobile for a time and in 1960, Leo and Marilyn taught as a team at the rural Tip Top School south of Morristown. The next four years, the couple taught at the school in Watauga and then one year in Morristown.


Leo received his Bachelor of Science in Education from Black Hills State College in 1967. He and his family then moved to McIntosh where Leo taught until his retirement in 1992. Besides teaching for 32 years, he officiated at basketball games for 20 with his partner, Skip Ten Broek. During the summers, if he wasn't attending summer school, he did carpentry, shingled roofs, sharpened saws, reloaded shells, and raised a garden.


Leo served on the McIntosh City Council, North West Regional Landfill, and the Municipal Leagues. He was a deacon for the Baptist Church in McIntosh and a member of the Bison Gideon Camp.


God's handiwork in the outdoors brought life-long enjoyment for Leo. He loved to sit on a hillside and call coyotes, or walk draws and fields hunting deer, grouse, or pheasants. Fishing was also a pleasure, especially ice fishing. Leo enjoyed playing pinochle with his friends and reading Louis L"Amour books. He enjoyed lending a hand on Kelvin and Jean's ranch north of Bison and made time to enjoy his 7 grandchildren's activities.


Leo lost his battle with lung cancer on June 16, 2010.


Leo is survived by his wife, Marilyn, McIntosh, SD; two sons, Audie (Wendy) Brockel, Lemmon, SD, Kelvin (Jean) Brockel, Shadehill, SD; and one daughter, Marcy (Barry) Van Zee, Mitchell, SD; seven grandchildren, Levi Brockel, Denver, CO, Zebedee Brockel, Fort Richardson, AK, Daniel, Cara, and Craig Van Zee, Mitchell, SD; and Kiana and Jim Brockel, Shadehill, SD. He is also survived by his three brothers, Ted, Lester (Ramona), and Elmer (Fern) Brockel, all of Bison, SD; and one sister, Betty (Roger) Strain, Morrill, NE, along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Leo was preceded in death by his parents, Carl and Helen Brockel, three step siblings, Richard Brockel, Wilma Seidel, and Verna Krueger, one sister-in-law, Jean Brockel, and two nephews, Brian Brockel and Carl Vernon Brockel.


Visitation will be Tuesday from 1:00 to 6:00 pm, Wednesday, 9:00 to 11:00am at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon.