Funeral services for William "Bill" G. Krambeer, age 91, longtime Lodgepole, SD area farmer and rancher will be at 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 9, 2009 at the Hettinger Lutheran Church with Pastor Kathleen Dettmann, officiating. Burial will be in the Hettinger Cemetery with full military honors afforded by the Johnson-Melary American Legion Post #115 of Hettinger, ND.

Special music will be provided by Jill Sailer organist.

Serving as casketbearers are Tom Miller, Billy Krambeer, Paul Krambeer, David Pedersen, Kevin Van Slooten, and Larry Hendricks. The "coffee crew" at Peppy's are considered honorary bearers.

WILLIAM GEORGE KRAMBEER "Bill" was born February 8, 1918 on the family farm at Lodgepole, SD to Robert and Alva (Erving) Krambeer. He attended Sidney School, also known as the Jesfield School. Bill worked on WPA projects in the Lodgepole area for one dollar a day building roads and constructing dams. In the late 1930's, Bill harvested beets in the Red River Valley for $18.00 per acre, and took them three days along with working on other WPA projects. In March of 1941, he went to Lemmon to check the draft numbers. He was getting close to being drafted, so he signed up for a year starting March 19, 1941. Bill served his country in the South Pacific for over three years. He was wounded in the Battle of Luzon in the Philippines in 1945, spending nearly 8 months in the hospital. In July of 1945, after returning to the states, he contracted Malaria and spent a month in the hospital in the State of Washington. He was discharged from the Army in October of 1945. In November of 1945, he began working at the Erlandson Lumber Yard in Hettinger, but spent most of the winter going to the Army hospital due to Malaria.

In June 1946, Bill and Evelyn Toble were united in marriage in Broadus, MT. Three children, Billy, Eugene, and Amy were born to this union. In July of 1946, Bill began contracting mail from Hettinger to the Ellingson Post Office. In the winter of 1946, he opened Hettinger Screen and Window Company with Floyd Peterson.

In 1949, Bill quit the mail route and screen company and moved to the ranch he was born on near Lodgepole. He raised sheep and cattle and over the years made many improvements to the farm and ranch. When Evelyn's health began to fail, they moved into Hettinger in 1984. They leased the place out, but Bill continued to go to the farm every day. His wife Evelyn passed away on June 26, 1986.

Bill was a member of Hettinger Lutheran Church. He served several years on the Township Board and the Bison School Board. In 1969, he decided to run for Perkins County Commissioner of the Third District. He was elected in November of 1969 and held that job for 12 years. He had visited nearly every farmer and rancher in Perkins County. He served on the Perkins County Weed Board for over 14 years.

He received the American Defense Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, six overseas bars, three bronze Battle Stars, the Philippine Liberation Medal, and the Purple Heart.

Bill passed away on Monday, March 2, 2009 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, ND.

Surviving family members include his two sons and one daughter-in-law, Gene and Bev Krambeer, Hettinger, ND and Billy Krambeer, Baton Rouge, LA; one daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Tom Miller, Glenwood, NM; six grandchildren, Gena (Brady) Jones, Wendy Witt, Paul Krambeer, David Pedersen, Brittanie Pedersen (Ryan James), Justin Krambeer; six great-grandchildren, Michelle Witt, Summer Jones, Stephen Jones, James Taylor, Kendra Taylor, and Alexis Krambeer, and a sister-in-law, Violet Krambeer, Buffalo, SD.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Evelyn; a daughter-in-law, Dovie Krambeer, brothers, Ben, Edwin and Bob Krambeer; and sisters, Goldie Schneider, Helen Hendricks, Ruth Wyatt, Elva, and three sisters in infancy.

Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2009 at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger and one hour prior to the services at the church on Monday.

A memorial has been established.