Funeral services for Mabel A. Dutton, 96, Faith and a former Prairie City/Zeona ranch wife and homemaker will be Friday, Sept. 23rd at 2 PM at the Slim Buttes Lutheran Church near Reva. Rev. Wayne Olson and Rev. Henry Mohagen will officiate with interment in the Prairie City Cemetery. Visitations will be on Thursday, Sept. 22nd from 1 to 7 p.m. at Faith Area Memorial Chapel, Faith, SD and on Friday for one hour prior to the service at the church. A memorial has been established.
Mabel A. Ehleringer was born in Perkins Co., on May 13, 1909. The family of Anton and Bertha (Bathen) Ehleringer lived north of Zeona, SD and she grew up there, enjoying riding horseback across the prairies with neighbor children. "Joe" was her favorite mount. She attended rural school and later the family moved to Regent, ND to farm, where she attended high school.
On Jan. 30, 1928 she was united in marriage to Marvin Dutton and they began their life together on his ranch, 17 miles south of Prairie City. There they raised their family of one son and three daughters. Mabel was an active community member, and loved her family and neighbors. She enjoyed gardening, cooking and baking, and all the animals on the ranch (especially her bum lambs). Mabel loved to sing even in later years. Her favorite song was "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louie". She was a member of the Handy Hands Extension Club and the Ladies Aid groups of Homme Lutheran Church and later Slim Buttes Lutheran Church. She also loved to crochet and sew. Mabel always said what she meant and meant what she said, and had never met a friend she didn't like.
Marvin passed away in July of 1982 and she continued to live on the ranch with hired help at the place until 1996. She then moved to rural Faith to stay with her daughter and son in law. She also spent time with Gordon and Kathy Collins in Faith and had vacationed some in New Mexico and other areas, but always felt the pull of the prairie of Western South Dakota.
Mabel suffered a fall on Sept. 13th and was hospitalized in Hettinger, ND and later transferred to Rapid City for surgery. She passed away at Rapid City Regional Hospital early the morning of Sept. 19th.
Grateful for sharing her life are a son and daughter in law; Howard and Barbara Dutton of Remer, MN, daughters and sons in law; Florence and Arnold Kolb of Alamogordo, NM and Spearfish, SD, and Jennie and Bob Collins of rural Faith, Loren Bridge of Corvallis, MT, 12 grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren, 4 great great grandchildren, sisters; Marie Doe of Reeder, ND and Helen (Lyle) Welsh of Rapid City, a sister in law: Caroline Ehleringer of Hettinger, ND, brother in law, Vetz Zern and numerous nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, one daughter; Donna Lou Bridge, grandsons; Nathan and Sterling Kolb, Ross Collins, a great grandson; Jeff Collins, one brother; William Ehleringer, two sisters; Josephine Zern and Marian Ehleringer.