Longtime supporter, board member and volunteer

Keith W. Paisley

       Dec 29 1928 - May 31 2011

It is with deep regrets yet with blessed reflections that we must tell of the death of Keith Paisley who met his demise on Tuesday, May 31, 2011. Keith lived a good life. He was born in Minneapolis MN in 1928, a son of Manley and Maxine (Watkins) Paisley, grew up in St. Paul and graduated from Wilson High School where he played on their 1945 City Championship basketball team. Following his college degree from Hamline University where he was the yearbook editor, sat on the Student Senate and was the lead sprinter, he served honorably in the Marine Corps during the time of the Korean War. It is interesting to note that he went from kindergarten all through college without ever having to walk more than five blocks from his home in St. Paul. After his 1950 marriage to Jean Robson in Sioux Falls and a brief time in this city in 1951 before his Marine years, his young family permanently settled here in late 1953 and for many years managed the Robson Hardware on West 12th Street before buying the business in 1975 and actively operating the store until his retirement in 1994. The wonderfully comfortable Robson Hardware, which was for many years a major outlet for home appliances and TV, and its many marvelous customers, employees and friends derived from that store remain as the center point of his life.

There were no regrets in his whole existence. His ongoing aspirations dreamed of flying a jet fighter plane, writing a book, playing guitar, being a super golf and tennis jock and somehow becoming a congressman and, while he fell many light years short of reaching those stars, he managed an occasional swipe at a low flying moon. He often wished for a deeper mind and for a greater sense of persuasion but unfortunately, wishes and attainment infrequently merge. The joys of life far overshadowed any regrets. He spent his entire life surrounded by beautiful women; his mother, his elegant and beloved wife, Jeannie, his mother –in-law Gertrude, his three daughters, Susan, Julie and Jeanne, and his lovely daughter –in-law, Linda. There were frequently questions as to how he could possibly have warranted such luxury and he would laughingly explain it as justice being served.

Keith played an active role in the life of his community and our state. He coached and led fifteen years of boys’ basketball groups in the YMCA leagues and for many years served as chairman of the Y’s Youth Activities Board. He was a past member of the Executive Boards of the YMCA, Westward Ho Country Club and at the First Lutheran Church where he also had been a choir member for a long period of time. In the 1970’s he spent eight years on the Sioux Falls School Board with four of those years as president. Keith was one of the last surviving members of the Urban Renewal Commission which, in the 70’s, resurrected the downtown tax base but in doing so enclosed two downtown blocks as a walking mall. This is the first time since the resulting clamor that anyone will have admitted being a part of that involvement even though it has worked so well. In 1981, he started a twenty-year tenure as a state legislator and his sixteen years as a state Senator stands as the third longest term of senatorial service in the full history of Minnehaha County. In 1992 when the Senate was defined as “Seventeen Republicans, seventeen Democrats and Paisley,” he was one of the only two legislators selected on the list of the 100 most influential South Dakota citizens. He often said that while being a poor Republican he probably would have been an even less committed Democrat so as the longtime chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee he independently balanced his strict concerns over the state tax revenues and how they were spent with far more moderate positions on social and educational and environmental issues. He felt fair and reasonable solutions to be far more important that partisan politics. As a part of the first term-limited legislators he was journalistically described as the model for competence lost. His extensively written and compiled Legislative Journal covering the years 1981-2000 is housed in the State Archives. 

Keith’s greatest blessings and pride came from Jean, his wife of 60 years, and from their family and the joys of life that they shared. Jean and Keith had the marvelous privilege of traveling to Europe on six different occasions, been aboard several cruises and had visited all fifty states including thirty-nine of the Capitols. Their four children; Mark (Linda) from Alice TX; Susan (Mark) Brzezinski of Excelsior MN; Julie (Bill) Munson of Palm Desert CA; and Jeanne (John) Brandenburg who live in Spring TX have all grown into exemplars of good wisdom and spirited humble service. There are eleven wonderful grandchildren and two model great grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, Jeannie; three blessed children, Mark, Susan, and Jeanne; brother, Richard and his wife Carol, the frequent partners in travel, who live in New Richmond, WI: a sister, Kathryn, who with her husband Floyd Anderson, have lived fine lives in St. Paul, MN: and brothers and sister-in-law, Bob and Marlys Reimier Marshall MN and Chad and Carolyn Hoyme, Olcott NY. His parents as well as his step mother, Virginia, the only Paisley grandmother that his children ever knew, have long been deceased; the much beloved Julie lost her life in August 2010; and a younger brother, Duncan, who has been an eternal hero, died in 1957. Memorial Services will be held on Tuesday, June 7 at 11:00 AM at First Lutheran and you are all invited to join in a celebration of the richness of life. Visitation will be at 4:00 pm, Monday, June 6, with the family present from 6:00-8:00 pm at Miller Funeral Home, 507 South Main Street, Sioux Falls. Any remembrances will be assigned to the work of the First Lutheran Church or to those charities that have depended on you. The Paisley family extends its deep thanks and appreciation to Dr. Bob Seidel, an extraordinary physician and a marvelous human being, the Sanford Hospice Nurses especially Kari Jennings, and the E6100 staff at Sanford Hospital, and to the thoughtful, scholarly Pastors John Christopherson and David Johnson, two pillars of First Lutheran Church.

          Thank you Keith for all you did for the "Y".

Donald L. Davis

Longtime friend of everything Leif Ericson

Jun 18 1925 - Dec 11 2008

Donald Linton Davis, 83, died Thursday, December 11, 2008 in Sioux Falls following a brief illness.

Don was born June 18, 1925 in Fargo, ND and moved to Sioux Falls at a young age. After graduating from Washington High School, he served in the 80^th Infantry Division and was subsequently captured in France and interred as a POW in Germany for over 7 months. During his service, he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Combat Infantry Badge. He graduated from USD Law School in 1950. Don married Cara Lee Cornelius on January 27, 1951.

Don was co-founder of Culbert-Davis Insurance Company, where he worked until his retirement in 1985. Culbert–Davis Insurance was known as one as one of the top insurance agencies in the state. He was certified as the first CPCU in South Dakota. He also served as president of the Sioux Falls and South Dakota Insurance Agents Association as well as the state national director of the National Association of Insurers.

Don was active in numerous civic organizations including Leif Ericson Day Camp, Lion’s Club, Y’s Men’s Club, USD Foundation, and the YMCA, where he and Cara Lee had a combined membership of 100 years. He and Cara Lee received the Inman Award for Distinguished Service in 2003 from the USD Foundation. The 80th Infantry Division recently promoted him to honorary Colonel.

Known for his optimism and ever-present smile, he enjoyed his family, world travel, playing cards with his wife and buddies, hunting, and racquetball.

In addition to his wife Cara Lee, Don is survived by a brother-in-law Louis Cornelius, 4 children and their spouses: Dr. John Baillie Davis and wife Stephanie (St. Paul), Dr. Laura Davis Keppen (Sioux Falls), Dr. Diane Davis Davey and spouse David (Orlando), and Dr. Daniel Cornelius Davis (Wichita). He has 6 granddaughters, 5 grandsons, and one great-granddaughter.

Don was preceded in death by his parents Deane and Marjorie, brothers John and Chuck, and sister Alice.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Camp Leif Ericson Endowment through the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation or the Don and Cara Lee Davis medical school scholarship at the USD Foundation.

Thank you Don, for all the years you spent doing great thing for camp.

Ray Syverson was born November 28, 1936, in Sioux Falls, to Raymond Sr., and Ruth (Brooks) Syverson. He attended Sioux Falls schools and graduated from Washington Senior High School. Following graduation, Ray attended Augustana College. For a period of time afterward, he traveled in Europe. Ray returned to Sioux Falls and began work for his father at Syverson Tile & Stone. Ray was united in marriage to Gayle Shaw on July 25, 1964, in Sioux Falls. He continued working for his father where he worked in all aspects of the family business. He eventually retired as CEO from Syverson Tile & Stone.Ray enjoyed fishing and boating at Lewis and Clark Lake and later spending time at their lake home at Poinsett.  In his free time he liked playing golf, Pitch, and going pheasant hunting. Every other year, the Syverson family attended the Brooks Family reunions in different locations throughout the US. Throughout the years, Ray and Gayle traveled to Europe, Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and particularly enjoyed a trip to Norway.  In the center of his life was his family. Ray thoroughly loved and cherished spending time with them.He was a member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church; Elks Lodge #262, where he was past Exalted Ruler; El Riad Shrine Snack Unit; and board member of Leif Erickson Day Camp.
A man with a big heart, Ray was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Blessed with an outgoing and hearty personality, Ray had a large community of friends. As his daughter Mary recalled, He cast his net widely and touched many, many lives. Regarded as an ideal boss, his employees thought the world of him. Ray will long be remembered for his love for life, his loyalty to friends and family, his booming laugh, and his bigger-than-life spirit.

Thank you Ray for your many years of helping us at camp.