To request a copy of this photo for your own personal use, please contact our state coordinator. If you are not a family member or the original photographer — please refrain from copying or distributing this photo to other websites.
Thank you for visiting the South Dakota Gravestone Photo Project. On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in South Dakota, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 5/6/09 • Approved: 5/6/09 • Last Updated: 8/14/15 • R9423-G9421-S3
John
Birth: Jun. 19, 1914
Death: Jan. 2, 2004
John has another headstone listed.
Viola
Viola C. Wenaas
(July 29, 1923 - May 20, 2008)
Viola Caroline (Vandemark) Wenaas, 83, of Roseville, MN, passed away May 20, 2008 due to complications from heart disease. She was preceded in death by parents William and Freda Benson, sister Katie, brother Bill, husbands John A. Wenaas and Walter E. Vandemark, MD. Viola was born in Bloomington, IN on July 29, 1923, and grew up on the family farm near Angola, IN. She loved her horse Babe and she enjoyed standing up while riding bareback at a gallop. The family's farm included lakefront property; she developed a lifelong love of swimming because the quickest way to get to her friend's house was to swim across the lake. Mom met her first husband Walter when she was a student nurse at Indianapolis City General Hospital. They were married on Sept. 12, 1947, and moved to Sioux Falls where Walter practiced orthopedic surgery and their four daughters were born. After Walter died on August 8, 1958, Viola supported her family by working as a registered nurse. She met her second husband John while on a trip to Hawaii. They were married on June 19, 1975, at the Wenaas family farm near Dell Rapids with Rev. Hans Poppe officiating. Mom loved living on the farm and traveling to John's military reunions throughout the United States. Mom was a firm believer in giving back to her community; during her lifetime she gave thousands of free manicures and pedicures to nursing home residents in Sioux Falls and Dell Rapids. She was widowed a second time when John died on Jan. 2, 2004. She then moved to Presbyterian Homes of Roseville, MN in October 2006. She is survived by her daughters Beth (Frank) Grund of Bloomington, MN; Mary (James) Sommerfeld of Arden Hills, MN; Elaine (Denny) Robinson of Letcher, SD; Joan (Leonard) Tuttle of Minneapolis, MN; seven grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; and many other relatives and friends. Services will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday May 24 at the Dell Rapids Cemetery with light refreshments to follow at the Rose Stone Inn in Dell Rapids. Memorials preferred to the American Legion, 408 Orleans Ave., Dell Rapids, SD, 57022 or to the donor's favorite charity. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Kahler Funeral Home, Dell Rapids.
Contributed on 5/6/09 by dellsfig68
Email This Contributor
Suggest a Correction
Record #: 9423