Dianne Leonard Kaardal, 78, of Sioux Falls

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SIOUX FALLS — Dianne Leonard Kaardal, 78, of Sioux Falls, passed away Saturday, February 4, 2023, at Avera Dougherty Hospice.


Funeral Service will be 11 a.m. Thursday at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, 909 W. 33rd Stree in Sioux Falls, with burial at Woodlawn Cemetery in Sioux Falls.


Visitation with the family present to greet friends will be 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Miller Funeral Home Southside Chapel, 7400 S. Minnesota Ave., in Sioux Falls.


Dianne Nicholas, daughter of Oliver John and LaVonne Lilly (Brugger) Nicholas, was born on May 29, 1944, in Aberdeen. Family had moved to Watertown where she graduated in 1962. She attended college at Northern State University in Aberdeen.


Dianne married Laurence Terry Leonard in Olivet on March 24, 1962. They were blessed with two children from that marriage: a son, Troy Nicholas Leonard on Oct. 24, 1962, and a daughter, Kari Jo Leonard Haj-Hussein born Jan. 11, 1968. Dianne had lived in Huron from 1967 to 1995.


Dianne was united in marriage with Ivar Martin Kaardal on Dec. 31, 1988, in Huron at the First Presbyterian Church with the Reverend Dr. John Brewington officiating.
She worked in real estate for forty plus years in the Huron community as well as owned her own insurance agency. In 1980, Dianne was selected as The Woman of the Year by the Huron Business and Professional Women’s Organization. She was active in the Republican Party. She was elected President of the South Dakota Federation of the Republican Women. She also held the position of Director of the Huron Area Chamber of Commerce.


She relocated to Sioux Falls and continued to work in insurance where she continued her work in insurance and Human Relations.


She was a member of Our Saviors Lutheran Church and Dianne loved working in support of her church. Her family was a great source of joy, and she was proud of having eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She loved playing the piano and singing along in her families’ traditional manner.  One of Dianne’s great passions was collecting angels. They were on displayed all over her home.


Grateful for having shared her life are her husband, Ivar Kaardal, Sioux Falls; a son, Troy Leonard (Karen), and their four children, Christopher Nicholas Leonard, Andra Huet Leonard-Husman,(Chad Husman), Graham Elliot Leonard and Ava Elizabeth Leonard; a daughter, Kari Haj-Hussein, (Mazen), have four children, Kaylor Joe Leonard Scudder and Phillip Alan Leonard Scudder and Leyla Sparks (Tyler) and Malek Haj-Hussein (Kara); a brother, George Alfred Nicholas, MD (Barbara Jill), and their children, Christina Marie Nicholas, MD, (Andy Hentzen, MD), Robert George Nicholas, MD, ((Liz) Nicholas, MD) and Michael George Nicholas, DO. Lorraine Huet MD is the mother of her grandchildren, Christopher and Andra. Tom Scudder is the father of her grandchildren, Kaylor and Phillip.


She was preceded in death by her parents.


Memorials maybe given to NIMH (National Institute for Mental Health) or charity of your choice.