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Ronnie Holdahl, age 68, of Lemmon, SD, passed away suddenly on Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Pinedale, WY.

Funeral services for Ron will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 4, 2021 at the NEW HOPE WORSHIP CENTER (note the change of location) in Lemmon, SD.  Pastor TJ Shockley will officiate and burial with full military honors will follow in the Greenhill Cemetery at Lemmon, SD.

Ronnie Lee Holdahl was born to Morris and Vera Holdahl on September 9th, 1952 in Lemmon, SD. He was the fourth of six boys. He first attended school at Paranto #4 (a small country school) and later attended Lemmon High School, graduating in 1970. Shortly after, he enlisted in the Army for two years, serving a tour overseas in Germany. Upon honorable discharge in 1974, he enrolled in an avionics program at the Alexandria Area Vocational Technical Institute in Minnesota, learning to repair electronics and radios. He briefly moved to Oregon then returned east to Lemmon to work for Redman Implement. He then moved to Dickinson, ND for a short time. Ron finally settled back home in Lemmon to work for the town of Lemmon and as an EMT. In Dickinson, he began dating his future wife, Delilah. After their marriage, Ron took up farming and ranching full time. He also gained 3 children, Brad, Brenda and Brooke, upon marrying Delilah. Later, Ron took to raising what was his best and finest crop: grandkids, and great-grandkids.

Ron taught all of his kids to dance, drive and check cattle with a calm smile, despite the numerous accidents and narrowly avoided catastrophes. His grandkids (and wife) were quite the handful. His ability to remain sane and keep everyone together was a challenging feat of epic proportions. Britnai, Adam and River, his oldest grandkids, had a need for speed that he managed to tame after they all wrecked the four wheeler, golf cart and the infamous Barbie car. Thanks to Grandpa, they are all "decent" drivers now. Riley and Cale, the younger grandkids, thankfully were more cautious and needed to be encouraged to go over 5 mph. Grandpa could fix everything from tractors to broken hearts. Adam once broke something irreplaceable and just shrugged with the answer "Grandpa will fix it".

Ron was often the voice of reason and wisdom with those who knew him. Family was incredibly important to Ron and it was never about blood to him. After one conversation with a lonely stranger, they would be claimed by him. Those in his family knew that there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you. Ron was a loyal and devoted brother. His brothers were some of his best friends. He wouldn't take no for an answer when offering help. No one was going to tell him what to do and oddly enough he was usually right about things.

When the great grandkids came along, Grandpa was thrilled to transition to Papa. He gained 4 new shadows to work on the farm with him and make him dress up like a princess. Papa was always happy to spend time with Emma, Kylea, Josie and Macy. He couldn't tell them no and they have had some wonderful adventures. Papa was the calm in the chaos of our family for these girls. He read countless books and watched way too many Disney movies with all his kids. Throughout all of those times, Ron was accompanied by one of his faithful, canine sidekicks. His dogs are waiting patiently for Ron in heaven so they can all head to the pasture together. Buddy, the most recent dog, is missing him here but is a comfort to all of us.

Ron will be dearly missed by all who knew him. He has left a hole that will never be filled but he also left a legacy of reaching out to those around you and bringing them into your family.

Ron is survived by his wife, Delilah, Lemmon, SD; children, Brad (Carrie) Derschan, Lemmon, SD, Brenda Derschan, Rapid City, SD and Brooke (Casey) Dauwen, Pinedale, WY; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; five brothers, Bob (Mary), Yankton, SD, Don (Tami) St. Maries, ID, Tom (Nancy), Buffalo, SD, Tim (Bev) Dickinson, ND and Jim (Carole), Watertown, SD; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Morris and Vera Holdahl; two brothers-in-law, Lonnie Thom and Ward Barnes; three nephews, Jim Holdahl and Samuel Holdahl, Nathan Barnes; niece, Helsah Holdahl; and his four legged best friend, Roo-Bob.

Visitation will be on Thursday, June 3, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon, SD.

The funeral service will be livestreamed and a link will be made available on Ron's obituary on our website at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com .

A memorial has been established.