Janet Marjorie (Strand) Magelky was born to Marjorie (Stiles) and Selmer "Sam" Strand on July 26, 1949 at the Hettinger, North Dakota hospital. She and her siblings Gary, Curtis, and Julie were raised on the family farm 12 miles south of Regent, North Dakota where they enjoyed things like riding horses and rodeoing. Janet attended three years of country school before attending school in Regent where she graduated in 1967. After high school graduation, Janet spent one year of college studying music—a passion that she maintained her entire life.

On September 14, 1968, Janet married her high school sweetheart, Jerry (Gerard) Magelky at the Catholic Church in Regent—a marriage that lasted for over 52 years. The couple followed Jerry’s work to Kadoka, SD and chose it as the place to make their lives. On April 19, 1973 they welcomed Kirk Scott to the family and Janet worked hard to maintain the balance of being a working mother. Thirteen years later, Kipp Sean joined the family on July 3, 1986. After Kirk’s death in 2002, the family moved out to the ranch north of town. Janet was an integral part of both iterations of Magelky Trucking and always knew where the boys were, could sense when Kipp came into or left the yard, and said a quick prayer each time the truck hit the driveway.

Soon after their wedding and the move to Kadoka, Janet quickly became bored of being a housewife and took a job at the Kadoka Hospital before being hired at ASCS (now FSA) where she worked for 27 years. After taking early retirement from the government, she studied to be a medical transcriptionist which led her to work for the Philip Hospital. Later, she was hired as Assistant Clerk of Courts in Jackson County and was then the Clerk of Courts in Haakon County which is the job she officially retired from in 2014.

Somewhere amidst all of these things, Janet found time to serve on the Kadoka Area School Board from 1982 to1985 and was also a member of the Kadoka Cookers. When the boys were young, she was a 4-H Leader and shuffled them to various events around the state. She also played piano and organ for the Concordia Lutheran Church for a number of years and also served as a confirmation sponsor. She took on an “advisory role” to Jerry’s ranch work, but she always had her finger on what was happening with the cattle work, made the meals for branding and working cattle without batting and eye, and was always relieved when everything finally made it out to pasture.

After her retirement, Janet became a quilter and cherished the time she spent with the Concordia and Belvidere Quilters. The time she spent with the girls quilting and telling stories was truly a time that she loved. Perhaps her favorite thing as of late was spending time with her grandkids. Grandma Janet didn’t know what she was missing all of those years without grandkids, and she filled every minute she had with the kids by coloring, teaching them to use scissors, plunking away at the piano, singing and teaching them that George Strait was the best singer out there, and teaching them to sew.

Survivors include her husband Jerry Magelky of Kadoka; one son Kipp (Jessica) Magelky of Kadoka; two grandchildren Kaidean and Kallen Magelky; a sister Julie (Paul) Richter of Rapid City; and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by a son Kirk Scott Magelky on April 26, 2002, her parents, and two brothers Curtis and Gary Strand.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to the memorial service.

Memorial services will be held 10:00 a.m. Monday, June 7, 2021 at the City Auditorium in Kadoka with Pastor Kathy Chesney officiating.

In lieu of flowers a memorial has been established. Cards and memorials may be sent to Jerry Magelky P.O. Box 373 Kadoka, SD 57543.

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