Myrtle Eva Warne

Myrtle Eva Warne, age 93, of Bryant, SD, passed away on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at Prairie Lakes Hospital in Watertown, SD. 

Pre-service visitation will be from 9:00-10:00 AM on Monday, January 22nd, 2024, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bryant, SD, with the funeral ceremony commencing at 10:00 AM.  Pastor Dave Nerdig will officiate with music provided by Dorothy Fuller as organist. Honorary pallbearers will be Myrtle’s grandchildren. The service will be live-streamed via the Crawford-Osthus website. Lunch will be served immediately following the service.

Burial will be held with immediate family at Our Redeemer Cemetery in Bryant, SD, later this spring. 

Myrtle was born June 17, 1930, to William and Nettie (Marsh) Wadsworth, at rural Bryant, SD.  She attended grade school and grew to adulthood in the rural Bryant community, eventually graduating from Bryant High School in 1948.  Following graduation, she attended Sioux Valley Hospital School of Nursing in Sioux Falls and earned her nursing degree in 1951.

That same year, Myrtle was united in marriage to Leon N. Warne on December 15th in Bryant, SD.  They lived in Bryant for a time, moved to Rapid City for a few years and then back to Bryant where she continued to live until she moved to Watertown in 2022, where she stayed with her daughter’s family until her death.

Myrtle was a bit of a green thumb always having a beautiful variety of flowers and flowering bushes in her yard and, for many summers, a garden full of vegetables.  She was very active with the ladies’ circle at Our Redeemer Lutheran church in Bryant and, later in life she and her friends loved to attend dances in Watertown.  She was also known to have had many fun (and some crazy!) adventures with the Red Hat Ladies!  Anyone who knew Myrtle knew that she spent much of her time over the years with her longtime and dear friend Don Buchele of De Smet, SD.

During her nursing career she worked in surrounding South Dakota communities such as Brookings, Estelline, Lake Preston, and Bryant. Upon her retirement Myrtle received an honorary service award recognizing her 51 years of dedication to the nursing profession from the South Dakota Nursing Association, 40 years of which she spent at De Smet Memorial Hospital in De Smet, SD.  At that time, it was the longest span anyone had ever worked as a nurse in the entire state of South Dakota.

Myrtle is survived by her children:  JoEllen (Wade) Heiser of Watertown, SD, Shelly (Lynn) Peterson of Yankton, SD, Lisa (Jeff Stucynski) Warne of East Bethel, MN; Grandchildren:  Sheri Chapin, Jessie (Chapin) Phillips, Brooke Graf, Matthew (Stacey) Graf, Dana Graf, Jordan Graf, Kooper Heiser, Carter Peterson, Cayden Peterson and Payton Peterson, as well as 12 great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her two brothers Ray and Arnold Wadsworth, her sister June (Wadsworth) Namken and her daughter Marla (Warne) Chapin.

Arrangements by Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel                                          www.crawfordosthus.com

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