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Submitted: 9/10/22 • Approved: 9/13/22 • Last Updated: 9/16/22 • R274629-G0-S3
BIRTH
25 Jun 1921
DEATH
13 Nov 2011 (aged 90)
BURIAL
Hills of Rest Memorial Park
Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, USA
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NAVY VETERAN- HOSPITAL CORPSMAN
WW2
Charles "Chuck" Tupper Claussen, 90, of Sioux Falls, SD, died Sunday, November 13, 2011 at the Sanford Hospice Foundation Cottage in Sioux Falls.
Chuck was born June 25, 1921 to William F.A. and Vesta (Schneider) Claussen at McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. He was baptized at First Christian Church in Sioux Falls. He attended Sioux Falls schools and graduated from Washington High School in 1939.
He married Signey Margaret Ostraat on April 11, 1943 at the Canton Lutheran Church in Canton, SD.
He attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls for two years before entering the U.S. Navy in 1944. He was a Hospital Corpsman at the Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho and at the Naval Convalescent Hospital in Sun Valley. He was discharged in 1946.
Chuck and Signey farmed in the Harrisburg area until 1952. He worked at the Sioux Falls Stockyards for several years before going back to finish his degree at South Dakota State College (SDSC) in Brookings. While a student there he earned the Little International Grand Champion Showmanship Award in 1956. He graduated from SDSC in 1957 with BS degree in Animal Husbandry. Following his graduation he went to work for John Morrell & Co. as a lamb buyer. He worked for Morrell's 26 years, retiring in June 1983. In 1984 Chuck started working part-time at Lewis Drug Southwest and continued working there through October of 2011. His fellow employees at Lewis were like a second family to him.
In 1959 Chuck and his family moved into their home on 20 acres west of Sioux Falls. Chuck had a small herd of sheep and a cow-calf operation of purebred Black Angus. He served as a 4-H leader in Minnehaha County for several years and helped with the Open Class Sheep Division at the South Dakota State Fair.
He was an avid flower gardener and belonged to many horticultural societies (local, state, regional, national) that reflected his interest in growing irises, daylilies and roses. He was one of the first certified Master Gardeners in Minnehaha County.
Chuck received the John Robertson Memorial Award from SD State Horticultural Society in 1992 for outstanding contributions to horticulture in the state, and in 1993, the American Iris Society Region 21 Distinguished Service Award. In 2003 he and Signey were recognized for their generous floral contributions to McCrory Gardens at South Dakota State University in Brookings.
He was a founding member of Peace Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls and has been actively involved there for over 45 years, serving on the church council several times. He sang in the choir, and was active in Men's bible study.
He was a member of the previous Zonta Masonic Lodge #215 AF & AM in Harrisburg, SD. The fellows in the HyVee coffee group were among his closest friends. Chuck enjoyed hunting and fishing in northeastern South Dakota with his son, Ron.
Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, November 16 at 11:00 a.m. at Peace Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. Burial is in the Hills of Rest Memorial Park in Sioux Falls. Visitation will be 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Miller West Funeral Chapel on West 41st St. on Tuesday, November 15.
Contributed on 9/10/22 by rsdake
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Record #: 274629
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