Mildred Engelhart

Mildred Engelhart, 92 of Watertown and formerly of Waubay died on Tuesday, May 08, 2012 at Jenkins Living Center in Watertown. Her funeral will be at 2:00 P.M. Saturday, May 12, 2012 at Ortley Free Lutheran Church in Ortley, Robert Grebel will officiate. Burial will be at Lakewood Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday 5-7 P.M. and prior to services at the church. Mildred Beryl Jorgenson was born on Sunday, March 14, 1920 to Adolph and Laura (Ridd) Jorgenson on the family farm near Waubay, South Dakota. She attended country school in Central Point Township and graduated from Waubay High School in 1938. On July 1, 1939 she was united in marriage to Donald Engelhart. After their marriage the couple made their home in Waubay. On February 15, 1941, a son, Raymond was born and on April 12, 1950 the couple adopted a little girl, Lois. Mildred was a homemaker, raising her children and caring for her home. Donald passed away on August 21, 1991. After his death she continued to live in their home until she fell and suffered a broken hip in September 2006. She then entered the Johnson Center in Bristol in December 2006. It was during this time that she was diagnosed with having Parkinson’s Disease. She lived in the Johnson Center with her cat, Snookie until February 2008 when she entered Sun Dial Manor in Bristol. Her cat, Snookie was able to stay with her until she could no longer care for her. Having Snookie with her gave her great comfort and happiness. In June of 2008, Millie sold her home in Waubay. Before the auction sale she spent time in her house sorting through her things and even washing the storeroom floor and her hands and knees. As the Parkinson’s continued to take a toll on her health, and she also experienced some dementia problems it became clear she needed to be closer to her doctors in Watertown. With great sadness she left Sun Dial Manor on March 9, 2011 and moved to Jenkins Living Center in Watertown where she resided until her death. Millie enjoyed spending many hours in her garden, tending her flowers. She was active in Waubay community affairs, she served as President of the P.T.A., was a long time member of the Tuesday Literary Club and the C.O.T.A. Guild. She was a member of the United Church of Christ where she taught Sunday School. When the church closed she became a member of the Ortley Free Lutheran Church. Millie passed away on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at Watertown, South Dakota at the age of 92 years, 1 month and 24 days. Survivors include one daughter, Lois (Jim) Tesch of Cold Spring, MN; three grandchildren, Amy (Derek) Branton, Jeffrey (April) Tesch and Jennifer (Russell) Johnson; four great grandchildren; three brothers, Orville (Muriel) Jorgenson of Apache Junction, AZ, Orvis (Marcy) Jorgenson and Ivan (Margaret) Jorgenson both of Waubay, SD; and one sister, Vanessa Jost of Mobridge, SD. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, one son, Raymond, one brother and two sisters.