Merle J. Parke

Merle J. Parke was born April 8, 1914, at Kadoka, South Dakota, to William and Pauline Parke.  He grew up and attended schools at Van Metre and Kadoka. 

Merle was united in marriage to Olive Drury on June 19, 1935, at Philip.  They farmed four miles north of Kadoka and also east of Wanblee until moving to Kadoka in 1947.  There, Merle ran a dray line and delivered propane for several years beofre going to work for the South Dakota Department of Transportation.  He retired in 1979 and later worked part-time as police dispatcher in Kadoka.

Merle was a member of the I.O.O.F. Lodge, Road and Gun Club, and the volunteer fire department.

Survivors include his wife, Olive, of Kadoka; three sons, William and John, of Rapid City, South Dakota, and Clifford, of Kadoka; three daughters, Frances Getz, Gaye Kerkvliet, and Kathie Williams, all of Kadoka; 18 grandchildren; three sisters, Elsie Gilchrist, Velma Drabek, and Bessie Leffler, all of Kadoka; two brothers, Clarence and Myron, both of Kadoka; several nieces and nephews; and a host of other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by two brothers and one granddaughter.

Visitation
Sunday, October 14, 1984
afternoon until noon on
Monday, October 15, 1984
Woodall Funeral Chapel
Kadoka, South Dakota

Funeral Services
Monday, October 15, 1984
2:00 p.m.
Presbyterian Church
Kadoka, South Dakota

Officiating
Reverend Eugene Orr

Interment
Kadoka Cemetery
Kadoka, South Dakota

Service Details

Funeral Services
Monady, October 15, 1984
2:00 p.m.
Presbyterian Church in Kadoka