Gary Lee Malland

Gary Lee Malland, 76, of Watertown, South Dakota, died peacefully June 10, 2019 surrounded by family at Prairie Lakes Hospital from complications due to lung cancer. Funeral services were held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, June 22, 2019 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cyrus, Minnesota. The eldest child of Athel and Florence Malland, Gary was born November 29, 1942. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cyrus. He graduated from Cyrus High School in 1961. As a youth, he enjoyed fishing, hunting and trapping. He met the love of his life, Pamela Kay Dunnihoo, and married her June 4, 1982. Together they made a commitment to sobriety that was never broken – a 37-year promise he took great pride in having kept. Gary completed college and worked for a time as a chemical dependency counselor, helping others achieve sobriety.  Gary and Pam resided in Benson, Minnesota where they were foster parents to several children before moving to Hancock a few years later to be closer to Gary's family. Gary was a jack of all trades and excelled at upholstery, a skill learned at a young age that served him well throughout his life.  He was an entrepreneur, running several businesses, and until his retirement, served as Director of Engineering & Maintenance at Stevens Community Medical Center in Morris.  After retirement, he and Pam moved briefly to Spicer and ultimately settled in Watertown, South Dakota, where he made fast friends with Steve, Junior, Rich, and Willie. You would often find him out in his shop doing upholstery. He loved the outdoors: mowing the lawn, tending his garden, and tinkering with various items in the yard.  He especially enjoyed his fishing trips with his best friend Steve and daughter Cyndi. Gary was a born-again Christian with unwavering faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and profound love for family. They were his reason for being and he always did his very best to take care of them. He was preceded in death by his father, mother, and sister Linelle Mae Pitts. He is survived by his wife of 37 years: Pamela Malland of Watertown; brother Darrell (Roxane) Malland of Cyrus; children: Kerry (Kathy) Malland of Mequon, WI, Kristin (Ken) Mueller of La Cañada Flintridge, CA, and Cynthia Malland of West Fargo, ND; stepchildren: Robert Peterson of Watertown and Robbyn Peterson (Bob) Wilson of Benson; seven grandchildren: Sydney and Allison Mueller of La Cañada Flintridge, CA, Jacob and Matthew Malland of Mequon, WI, Brandi Rasmussen of Benson, Keanu Rasmussen of Olivia, Minnesota, and Savannah Johnson of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota; one great-grandchild: Keeli Beckham of Benson; sister-in-law: Joyce Lammers of Watertown, and several nieces, nephews and cousins whom he loved dearly.

Arrangements are with the Furness Funeral Home of Clark where there is an online registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com .