Myra L Cluts

Myra L. Cluts, age 88, longtime Vienna, SD Postmaster, died peacefully Sunday evening, April 24, 2016 in the Parkview Care Center at Bryant after a brief illness.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2016 from 5-7 PM at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Vienna and will continue 1 hour prior to services on Thursday.

Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, April 28, 2016 at 2PM in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church at Vienna with The Reverends Keith Garness and Bryan Taffe officiating. The organist will be Dorothy Fuller. Casketbearers will be Basil Englert, Dick Reints, Mark Prouty, Chuck Lusk, Julian Hamre, and Ray Galbraith. Honorary casketbearers are all of her friends from the coffee shop, who were all so special to her.  Burial will follow in the Vienna Lutheran Cemetery.

She was born Myra Louise Dougherty on February 19, 1928 at Watertown, the daughter of Elmer and Lillian (Schutt) Dougherty. Myra graduated from Watertown High School in 1946. She worked for Gowins Photo Shop - hand-tinting photographs and then was employed by Midland National Life Insurance Company for many years.

On November 3, 1962 she was united in marriage to Gordon Cluts.  The couple made their home in Vienna and they had one daughter, Lisa.  Gordon passed away in 1982.

Myra served as Postmaster for Vienna from 1983 until retiring in 2013. She thoroughly enjoyed being outside working in her yard, especially mowing, tending to her flowers and cruising around Vienna in her golf cart.  She made her famous doughnuts often for her friends at the Coffee Shop/Post Office, and always had the coffee pot on for everyone who stopped in to discuss the local "news". She enjoyed taking her family out to eat for birthdays or just because and baking Christmas goodies – especially her peanut brittle.

She was a longtime member of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church at Vienna, where she was an honorary member of the WELCA.  She was also a member of the Eastern Star.

Preceding her in death were her parents, husband, 2 grandchildren-Matthew and Laura and her brother, Robert Dougherty.

Grateful for having shared in her life is her daughter, Lisa Virchow (Ken Kirchner) of Willow Lake, 2 grandchildren, Julie (Brad) Larson of Willow Lake and Dan Virchow of Fargo, ND, a great-granddaughter, Quinn Larson of Willow Lake, and sisters-in-law, Elaine Dougherty of Mitchell and Mavis Brenden of Watertown. Memorial contributions would be appreciated in lieu of flowers, to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and be sent to her family.

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