Danny L Brenden

Danny Lee Brenden, age 70, Vienna, SD, died on February 15, 2020 at his winter home in Green Valley, AZ, with his wife, Kathy, and dog, Maggie, at his side.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 4PM in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church at Vienna with The Reverend Bryan Taffe officiating.  Memorial visitation will be from 2-4PM at the Church, prior to services.  Burial will be at a later date in Vienna Lutheran Cemetery.  Dorothy Fuller will be the organist.

He was born at Watertown on August 14, 1949 to O'Dean and Mavis (Cluts) Brenden.  Danny graduated high school at Egan, SD in 1967, then attended General Beadle (Dakota State) College in Madison for a year, and then spent one year in Fargo, ND, graduating with a mechanics degree in 1969.  In 1970, he was united in marriage to his best friend and soul mate, Kathy Wangberg,  on July 3.  He then joined the Army National Guard, the 147 ^th field artillery unit in Flandreau, SD, and was a member of the National Guard army reserve for six years, being honorably discharged in 1976. Working with his dad in the grain elevator business brought relocation from Egan to Henry where he and his young family resided until 1979 when they moved to their farm south of Vienna. They raised their family and expanded their farming operation over the next 20 years. Following a farm accident that resulted in early retirement, they moved to a new home east of Henry and resided next door to his brother and sister-in-law for the next nine years. They became full time RV-er's, campground hosting for the next 14 years at Newton Hills, south of Sioux Falls and Lake Poinsett until his deteriorating health caused him to end his volunteering at the state parks.

Danny enjoyed watching his grandchildren participate in their sporting activities, including baseball, softball, volleyball, football, basketball and track meets, and even competitive cheer. He immensely enjoyed visiting with the people who camped and drove through the park in his golf car, helping campers and assisting staff. He was a diehard fan of college basketball, favoring the Arizona Wildcats, and was an avid reader of anything he could get his hands on by Louis L'Amour. His true love was always farming and his pride was most visible watching his son and his family carry on that family farming tradition.

He was preceded in death by his father, O'Dean, brother, Tom, and his sister-in-law, Myrna.

He is survived by his wife, Kathy, his daughter, Angie (Tony) Ringheimer of Volga, SD, and their children, Jordyn (Layne) Lucas of Volga, SD, and Chase of Volga, SD, and his son Butch (Erin) and their children Cole, Samantha, and Madison of Vienna, SD, his mother, Mavis of Watertown, SD, and sisters, Jo Dean (Lee) Tice of Moorpark, CA, and Dawn (Al) Koch of Watertown, SD, along with several nieces and nephews.

The Furness Funeral Home at Clark is serving the family where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com