William "Bill" Leigh Altfillisch

William "Bill" Leigh Altfillisch, age 84, of Mellette, formerly of Clark, died on Sunday, December 20, 2020, in an Aberdeen Care Center.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, masks or face coverings are highly recommended and strongly encouraged . A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00AM on Monday, December 28, 2020, at St. Michael's Catholic Church with visitation starting at 10:00AM. The Reverend Daniel Smith will celebrate. Following services, burial will take place in the St Boniface Catholic Cemetery of Clark.  The casketbearers will be the grandchildren, Austin, Angela, Evan, Gabrielle, Olivia, and Slaton.  Those considered honorary casketbearers will be Jerome and Brad, the Staff of the Bethesda Home, Buster, Sandy, and Kay.

William Leigh Altfillisch was born July 21, 1936, in Clark, SD, to Velda (Moser) and Leigh Altfillisch. He attended Clark schools, graduating in 1956.

On November 19, 1956, he married the love of his life, Dianne Fox at the St. Michael's Catholic Church of Clark. They lived in Clark for three years and then moved to Sioux Falls for the next twelve years where Bill worked as an auto body shop man. While in Sioux Falls, their daughter Lisa was born. The family then moved to Hubbard, OR for three years and added a daughter, Dana to the family. They then moved to the Crooks/Renner area for the next two years where he continued working as an auto body man.

His love for farming had them return to Clark. They eventually built their home southeast of Clark where they resided until 2016. Bill was a founder and former President of Clark Rural Water System. He was also a longtime member of the St. Michael's Catholic Church. In 2016, Bill and Dianne moved to Mellette and for the last year and a half, he had been a resident of the Bethesda Nursing Home in Aberdeen

Bill had a wondrous mind and was a true adventure seeker. He never said "Can't" as he would try to learn about everything he ever pondered about. He learned to fly, hunt, fish, take and develop photos, play the guitar, and anything else he was curious of. Above all, he loved his family, especially his grandchildren! His favorite saying was "Love is the word!"

Bill is survived by his wife, Dianne Altfillisch of Mellette; daughters, Lisa (Jerome) Morgan of Mellete, and Dana (Brad) Oye of Warner; grandchildren, Austin (Lauren) Morgan, Angela (Ian) Seuser, Evan Morgan, Gabrielle (Kyle) Hall, Olivia Oye, and Slaton Oye; great grandchildren Hattie, Luella, Augustus, Leo and Dani; brother, Wayne "Buster" (Sandy) Altfillisch; and sister, Kay Flanagan.

He is reunited with his parents; sisters, Mary Roe and Genevieve Altfillisch; and brother-in-law, Larry Flanagan.

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