Obituary Record

Wallace R Jaehn
Died on 1/16/2015

Published in The Pilot Tribune, Tuesday, January 20, 2015

(Photo)(Veteran)

Wallace R. Jaehn, 91

Wallace R. Jaehn, 91, of Blair, died Friday, Jan. 16, 2015, at Memorial Community Hospital in Blair, surrounded by family.

He will be buried in the Black Hills National Cemetery with full military rites at a later date.

Wallace R. Jaehn was born Feb. 25, 1923, in Huron, S.D., to Frank and Madeline Jaehn.

Wally moved to Rapid City, S.D., in 1935, graduated from Central High School in 1942, and joined the service that same year. He proudly served his country during World War II in the E.T.O. with the 9th Air Force attached to the 3rd Army until 1946.

After being discharged, he returned to the Rapid City Air Force Base where he worked as a civilian contractor.

He married Lilian Money from London, England, in 1947 and she passed away that same year.

In 1950, Wally and Margaret Roth were joined in marriage.

He then went into construction and land development for 25 years in the Rapid City area.

He married LaDonna Ragels on Nov. 28, 1987, in Rapid City. The couple later moved to Blair in 2004.

Wally was a lifetime member of VFW Post 1273 and a VA Black Hills Volunteer at the Fort Meade Medical Center in South Dakota.

He loved to travel and was able to see many places around the world in his 91-plus years. He enjoyed fishing in Canada and, later in life, passed the love of fishing on to his grandchildren. He was an avid reader, NASCAR fan, birdwatcher and jigsaw puzzle extraordinaire. He will be remembered for many woodworking projects that he shared with family and friends far and wide.

One of his proudest accomplishments was the building of South Canyon Lutheran Church in Rapid City where he was a charter member.

Wally is survived by his wife, LaDonna of Blair; brother Gene of Missoula, Mont.; sister Donna Lotz of Rapid City; his stepchildren: Rick Ragels of Colorado, Lauri (Larry) Randolph of Elko, Nev., Beth (Woody) Welke of Omaha, Nancy (Bill) Ahrendt of Omaha and Amy (Joel) Wing of Blair; and numerous beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wives, Lilian and Margaret; his parents; brothers: Robert, Leonard, Milo and Frank; sisters: Phyllis and Dorothy; stepchildren: Diane Griffin and Terry Ragels; and step-granddaughter Jennie Williams.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be directed to the Blair Public Library Foundation .

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

FindaGrave # 141583423

Printed in the Washington County Pilot-Tribune on 1/20/2015


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