Funeral services for Orel Sands, 87, longtime south Keldron, SD area rancher will be Friday, September 28, 2007 at 10;30 a.m. at Calvary Lutheran Church in Lemmon. Rev. Ken Miller will officiate.

A Memorial has been established.

Orel passed away at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger on September 25, 2007.

Orel Charles Sands was born on August 18, 1920 at Grand Valley, South Dakota, (south Keldron) to Charlie and Selma (Evenson) Sands. He was the youngest of three children. His childhood years were spent on the family farm, helping with the Grand Valley post office and store that his parents owned.


Orel attended the Center School near the farm through the eighth grade. He graduated from Lemmon High School in 1938 and then attended Northern Normal College and received a teaching certificate. He taught rural school at Lebanon, South Dakota. After teaching, he returned to the farm and later took over the operation when his father was killed in a farm accident.


On February 14, 1949, Orel flew in a neighbor's plane to seal the deal by presenting the love of his life with a diamond. June 22, 1949 was a very special day when Orel married Blanche Daley. Together they farmed and ranched (thankfully, Blanche's leather cattle whip never wore out after 42 years) and enjoyed raising their four children, Shari Lee, Richard Orel (Rick), William Ray (Bill), and Todd Allen.


After retirement in 1985, Orel and Blanche did a lot traveling and finally settled down at the "South Forty" in Mesa, Arizona. They lived in Mesa for twenty years where they met many new friends, had many adventures, and just plain "had a ball." Just this summer, Orel and Blanche returned home to the "North Forty."


Orel was a member of Bethel Lutheran Church in Morristown where he served on various church boards and as a lay minister. He was also a member of Calvary Lutheran Church in Lemmon and was a member of the Corson County Soil Conservation District, Grand Valley Community Club, Masonic Lodge, and the Grand Valley Township Board.


Orel was a wonderful father who provided a loving home for his family. His bride, children, grandchildren, and great-grandson were the greatest joys of his life. He worked hard, but he was always ready to go to a dance or play a game of cards. He loved to visit with people and often met someone with whom he had a common acquaintance. Orel was known to always have a joke or six, and he loved telling stories.


He will be forever missed by his wife Blanche, daughter Shari (Kenny) Bartell, Lemmon; sons Rick, Pocatello, Idaho; Bill (Sheree), Chaska, Minnesota; Todd (Jeanne), Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Nine grandchildren, Jodi (Andrew) Rasmussen, Staci (Jeff) Larson, Heidi Bartell; Megan, Justin, Jordan, Jon, Taylor, and Tyler Sands. One great-grandson Charlie K. Rasmussen. One sister Blenda Christman. Brother-in-law and sister-in-law Jim and Marie Daley, Sisters-in-law Dorothy Johnson and Joyce Shisker and numerous nieces, nephews, and special friends.


He was preceded in death by his parents Charlie and Selma Sands and his brother Byron Sands.