Valerie "Val" G Richter

Valerie "Val" Richter, age 62, the widow of Milo, died on Sunday, May 8, 2016 in the Prairie Lakes Hospital at Watertown.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 from 5-7 PM at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark and will continue at the Church on Thursday after 11AM.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 1PM in the St. Paul Lutheran Church at Clark with The Reverend's Mindy Ehrke and Roger Shepherd officiating.  The organist will be Dorothy Fuller with special music by Dan and Mia Olson.  The casketbearers will be Tristan Tom, Todd Albertson, Al Forbragd, Willie Gruenwald, Alan Hollatz, Lynn VanBockel and Jeff Olson.  Burial will follow in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark.

She was born Valerie Gail Eaton on November 24, 1953 in Honolulu, HI, the daughter of Burton and Eleanor (Surles) Eaton.  Her father was in the armed forces stationed in Hawaii.  The family returned to Gettysburg, SD where Val attended school, graduating from Gettysburg High School in 1971.  While in high school she was active in marching band and track.  Following high school she attended Presentation College at Aberdeen majoring in Respiratory Therapy.  Val would then move onto North Carolina where she obtained a degree in Respiratory Therapy, a career she practiced for several years.

After her marriage to Milo D. Richter on November 6, 1976 in Gettysburg, the family moved to various communities as his career with Northwestern Energy would require.  While living in these communities of Aberdeen, SD, Grand Island, NE and Doland, SD, Val continued her career in her field.  While living in Doland she was employed by the Redfield Community Hospital.  In 1983 the family moved to Clark.  While living in Clark, Val worked at Community First Bank, The Playhouse Restaurant and The Clark Hometown Variety Store.  She also became an EMT and worked with the Clark County Ambulance service.  For several years she also worked as a dispatcher for area law enforcement agencies.

She was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church at Clark where she had served on the Church Council and also sang in the Church Choir.  In her free moments, she loved being with her grandchildren, Lilly, Cole and now Eleanor!   Val also enjoyed taking motorcycle trips and traveling.  Val was not a member of the Clark Lions Club, although that organization was very dear to her husband Milo and to Val, it is with this love of the Lions Club, that her daughters made the choice to donate her corneas at the time of her death, so someone else might be able to have the gift of sight!

Preceding her in death were her parents, and her husband Milo in October of 2014.

Grateful for having shared in her life are her daughters, Jessica (Cory) Berg of Denver, CO, Amie (Joey) Stapleton of Centennial, CO, and Katie Wangsness of Clark, three grandchildren, Lilly, Cole, and Eleanor, brother, Burt (Faye) Eaton of Watkins, CO, and an exchange son, Diego Galvez of Madrid, Spain.  She also leaves in-laws, Carol (George) Braunwarth of Waconia, MN, Marlys (Ernie) Jensen of Meckling, SD, Julaine (Ray) Wedin of Plymouth, MN, Donn (Mary Gapp) Richter of Summit, SD, Vonnie Richter of Redfield, SD, and Vicki (Tom) Gulbranson of South Padre Island, TX. Oh and one can't forget the dog, Boogs. In lieu of flowers, memorials would be appreciated.

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