Eleanor Nadine "Toots" TeBeest

It is with much sadness that we announce the death of Eleanor Nadine “Toots” (Schaefer) TeBeest, 94, of De Smet and formerly of Iroquois, SD, who passed away on August 4, 2026, in De Smet, SD, after a long illness.  

Memorial Service will be held at 6:00 PM on Monday, August 17, 2026, at American Lutheran Church in De Smet, SD. Pastor Nate Bendorf will officiate with music provided by Marie Rusche as organist. Honorary pallbearers will be Nadine's grandchildren, and the service will be livestreamed via the Crawford-Osthus website.

Visitation will be held from 4:00-6:00 PM on Monday, August 17, 2026, at American Lutheran Church in De Smet, SD.

Burial at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, SD, at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donation be made in Nadine's memory to the American Lutheran Church and Good Samaritan Society in De Smet, SD.

Nadine was born November 13, 1931, in Hamlin County, SD, the daughter and first of six children born to Ernest W. and Viola L. (Abrahamson) Schaefer. As children they traveled to Oregon, where “Ernie” found work to support his family during the depression. The family later moved back to farm in the Hayti, SD, area.

Nadine married Merwin K. TeBeest on December 24th, 1949. In the late 1950s, Merwin and Nadine settled in Iroquois, SD, where she became known as Nadine, or for many, simply as Toots.

Merwin and Nadine had five children; Gary, Dixie, Randy, Lonnie and Kristi who were raised in the Watertown and Iroquois areas. Nadine worked several different jobs along the way, but the primary role that she loved the most was as a wife, mother, and grandmother.

She is survived by three children, Dixie Waganaar, Rapid City, SD; Lonnie (Sandy) TeBeest, Spearfish, SD; and Kristi (Bob) Timp, De Smet, SD. She is also survived by five siblings; Darlene Rowerdink, Lancaster, CA; Margaret “Babe” Holtan, Anaheim, CA; Barbara Burke, Rapid City, SD; Larry (Lynn) Schaefer, Watertown, SD; Marlys Gillies, Laguna Beach, CA; fourteen grandchildren, and numerous great and great-great-grandchildren.

Nadine was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, her parents, sons Gary and Randy, and son-in-law Wayne “Bear” Wagenaar. Brothers-in-law; Gerdus Rowerdink, Don Holtan, Roger Burke and Leslie “Chick” Gillies also preceded Nadine in death.

The family would like to give a special thanks to the staff at Good Sam’s in De Smet and to the Avera hospice nurses who all cared so much for Nadine in her last years.

Arrangements entrusted to Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel                www.crawfordosthus.com

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