Glen Freidel, Mitchell

Glen Freidel, 77, Mitchell, died Thursday, Jan. 24, 2012, at Avera Dougherty Hospice House, Sioux Falls.

He was born Oct. 15, 1935.

Funeral services will be 10:30 am Tuesday at Holy Family Catholic Church, Mitchell. Burial, with military honors, will be in the American Legion Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 pm Monday with a 7 p.m. scripture service at Bittner Funeral Chapel.

He was born in Dimock to Edward and Hildagarde ( Mattas ). Glen grew up in Ethan.

After Glen graduated from Ethan High School, he moved to Lead where he worked at Homestake Mine. He served in the U.S. Army at Ellsworth AFB. He returned to the Ethan area and worked for Western Chevrolet in Mitchell, and then started working for the U.S. Postal Service. He was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Glen married the love of his life, Elaine Marie Wudel , on Sept. 19, 1959. They made their first home in St. Paul, Minn., where Glen worked at the post office. They moved to Cottage Grove, Minn., and in 1971 moved back to Mitchell to be near family. He became a mail carrier in Mitchell until he retired in 1990. Glen knew the neighborhood people (and dogs) and looked forward to visiting them all along his route.

We are all blessed to be part of Glen's family and to have known his unusual sense of humor. He left us a legacy of being able to have fun, enjoy being together and especially to laugh. Glen loved golfing, NASCAR, listening to Johnny Cash, garage- saling , and was even adventurous enough to go on a river raft trip with all the guys on their “man trip” they took to Montana the summer of 2011. We think he will be running heaven’s pawn shop and have the biggest shed filled with all his treasures.

His survivors include four children: Lori (Tom) Roberts of Pierre; Karen (Matt) Heck of Black Hawk; Mark (Lisa) Freidel of Kansas City, Mo., and Craig (Brenda) Freidel of Mitchell; his beloved grandkids, Chad, Brandon and Derek Schreiner, Kyle, Samantha and Adam Heck, Eddie and Ethan Freidel, and Allysa and Logan Freidel; his sisters Bonnie Cronkite of Omaha, Neb., Joanne Ingram of Polson, Mont., and his little brother, Keith of Oacoma. While in hospice care at Dougherty House in Sioux Falls, Glen’s sister Jane McCarthy of San Diego entered into hospice care after a long battle with cancer. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews who lovingly called him their favorite uncle.

Glen was preceded in death by his grandparents, parents, and sister, Shirley Wermers.

Donations to the Lewy Body Dementia Association in his name would be appreciated. You can donate online at www.lbda.org or mailing it to LBDA 912 Killian Hill Road, S.W. Lilburn, GA 30047.

Thank you to the staff at Prairie View Care Center in Woonsocket for taking such good care of Glen. The family would also like to thank the staff at Dougherty House in Sioux Falls. Donations would also be appreciated in his name. You can donate online at www.avera.org/mckennan/foundation . Or mail it to Dougherty House at 4509 Prince of Peace Place in Sioux Falls, S.D. 57103.

Tags: obituaries, mitchell