Darrel Robert Heiden

Darrel R. Heiden, age 87, rural Clark, died at his home after a lingering illness on Saturday evening, November 14, 2015. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 17, 2015 from 5-7PM at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark and after 1PM at the Church on Wednesday. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 2PM in the Peace Lutheran Church at Clark with The Reverend Randy Bader officiating. The organist will be Barb Wegman with special music being provided by Danny Schmidt. Casketbearers will be Bill and Roger Karber, Doug Swanson, David Warren, Ken Bell and Francis Haas. Burial will follow in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark. He was born Darrel Robert Heiden on July 17, 1928 on a farm 8 ½ miles south of Clark, the son of Roy and Nettie (Olson) Heiden. He attended the Merton School south of Clark through the 8th grade. His father needed help on the farm so he continued his lifelong commitment to the farm. Even at a younger age, he had begun to do chores on the farm consisting of plowing with a team of horses, milking cows, and other farm work. He had a way with horses, often plowing and doing other hard chores with the team of up to 5 animals. When he turned 13, they invested in an Allis Chalmers. At the age of 16 he bought five horses, broke them to ride and later sold them to purchase his first car, a blue 1936 Ford and then soon upgraded to a 1938 Chevy because it had a better heater. At the age of 19 he met, Lois Johnson, whom he dated for 4 years, as she was only 15, then they were married on November 27, 1949 at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church at Raymond. The couple lived with his parents for a time until moving to their own farm just north of Clark in 1954. He has remained on this farm, living and working the land, along with his wife, Lois. Even though he retired from farming in 1998 due to health reasons, they continued living on the farm. After his retirement the couple traveled some by taking a cruise to the Bahamas, went to Branson, MO, Nashville, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Lois died in 2002. Darrel continued making the farm his home until his death. He was baptized and confirmed in the Methodist faith and after his marriage, became a member of Peace Lutheran Church at Clark. In his free time he enjoyed hunting pheasants and in younger days, jackrabbits. His theory also was he would rather watch the deer than hunt the deer. In the community, Darrel had served on the board of directors of the Clark Farmers Elevator. Preceding him in death were his parents, his wife, Lois, a sister, Roberta Smith and a brother-in-law, Leo Bachman. Grateful for having shared in his life are his children, Neil (Ann) Heiden of Eagan, MN, Marlon (Robin) Heiden of Canby, MN, Diane (John) Dahlgren of Bath, Deb Heiden of Aberdeen and David (Brenda) of Peoria, AZ. 9 grandchildren, Susan, Daniel, Shane, Adriane, Amber, Amy, Meagan, Amanda, and Grant and 11 great-grandchildren, Genevieve, Vivienne, Amelie, Liliane, Tate, Henry, Sadie, Krystal, Keira, Korina and Karina. He also leaves a sister, Velma Bachman and a brother-in-law, Allen Smith, both of Clark. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate memorials in his memory to the Clark/Willow Lake Cyclone Wrestling Booster Club % Bill Karber, 2518 171st Street NW, Clark, SD 57225 The Furness Funeral Home at Clark is serving the family where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com