John MacRae

John MacRae 91 of Webster died on Monday, May 09, 2011 at Strand-Kjorsvig Community Rest Home in Roslyn. Memorial services will be at 10:30 A.M. Saturday, May 14, 2011 at Fiksdal Funeral Chapel in Webster. Marion Grimes will officiate. Inurnment will be at a later date at Hillside Cemetery near Lily. John Perley MacRae was born on New Years Day, Thursday, January 1, 1920 at Lucknow, Ontario, Canada to John Duncan and Okey Amanda (Reynolds) MacRae. When he was a small child he moved with his mother to the Detroit Lakes and Moorhead, Minnesota areas. He attended school there. He also resided in South Dakota in his early years and worked in the Lily and Webster areas, threshing with a team of horses for area farmers. He entered the U.S. Army in 1941, Battery A 80th Field Artillery Battalion until 1945. He then re-enlisted in January 1948 and belonged to Company C 538th Engineering Battalion and served in the Asian-Pacific Theatres, including the Philippines and New Guinea. While in the Army, he resided in many different locations, such as Wisconsin, Germany, Arizona, Kentucky and in Aberdeen, South Dakota after he retired from the military. He married Phyllis Berdine Aadson of Lily on February 18, 1948 at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Webster. Together they had seven children. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in February 1998, just prior to the passing of his wife, Phyllis in May. He retired from the Army in 1963 and they lived briefly in Aberdeen before moving to Washington State in 1966. While there, he began his eighteen year employment for the Boeing Company in Renton, Washington, retiring in 1983. He moved to Webster in August 2009. John passed away on Monday, May 9, 2011 at Roslyn, South Dakota at the age of 91 years, 4 months and 8 days. Survivors include three daughters, Marcia (Rich) Solberg of Webster, SD, Mary (Russ) Jensen of Auburn, WA and Brenda MacRae of Bozeman, MT; two sons, John L. MacRae and Dallas L. MacRae both of Webster, SD; two sisters, Christine Marshall of Longview, WA and Ann Fisher of Centralia, WA; eight grandchildren and ten great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, two sons, three brothers and three sisters.