Arthur Fryslie

Arthur "Art" Fryslie, age 83, died in his home near Vienna, South Dakota on December 1, 2024.  Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bryant, SD, at 1:00 p.m. with Minister Pam Seefeldt officiating the service.  Following the service, please join the family for a lunch and a time of fellowship in the church fellowship area prior to going to the cemetery at Vienna Lutheran Cemetery in rural Vienna, SD.  Visitation will be held the evening prior, Friday, December 6, 2024, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bryant from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m.

He was born on October 25, 1941 in Watertown, the son of Lloyd and Elvera (Larson) Fryslie. He was the oldest of their three children. In 1975 he married Jane Claus in Wayne, Nebraska. They had two children, Tara and Jess.

Art graduated from Vienna High School and attended State College in Brookings. He was a member of Good Hope Lutheran Church and was involved in several organizations including the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Willow Lake Lions Club, the Watertown Gideon Camp, South Dakota Trappers Association, Ducks Unlimited, and the South Dakota Historical Society. He was a member of the South Dakota State Legislature for 12 years, serving eight years in the House of Representatives and four in the Senate.

Art was in the Polled Hereford cattle business for many years with his uncle Marvin and father Lloyd. Arthur owned a steam engine for several years that had belonged to his grandfather Alfred and his father Lloyd. He eventually sold it to the Kevin Anderson family of the James Valley Threshing Association. He wanted it to go to a good home and be used.

Art was proud of his heritage and considered himself a true son of South Dakota. All four sets of his great-grandparents homesteaded throughout Dakota Territory in the early 1880's.

He loved the outdoors and spent many hours hunting, trapping, and fishing. Most of all, he loved his family.

Grateful for having shared his life is his wife of 49 years Jane; children Tara (Norman) Vig of Vienna and Jess (Jamie) Fryslie of Brookings; and six grandchildren: Chayla Vig, Alicia Vig, Tehya Vig, Austin Vig, Juniper Fryslie, and Mira Fryslie. He also leaves two sisters Janelle (Dellas) Gjerde and Rozann (Jerry) Krause, uncle Donald Fryslie, and several nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and friends.