HURON — Jayne Dutenhoeffer, age 90, of Huron, passed away on Thursday, November 25, 2021, at her home, surrounded by family.
Her Graveside Service will be on Monday, November 29, 2021, at 10 a.m. at St. Martin’s Cemetery in Huron. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.
Jayne Marie Dutenhoeffer (Hartzell) died peacefully on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021, in the home she built with her late husband George Dutenhoeffer overlooking the James River in Huron, surrounded by her family and beloved cat Susie.
Born on July 6, 1931, in Aberdeen, Jayne was raised an only child to Emma Bertha Fauss and Milford M. (Jack) Hartzell. The family lived in Bristol, S.D., Ortonville, Minn., and finally Bowdle, S.D., where her father Jack ran the depot for the Milwaukee Railroad, and where she graduated from Bowdle High School in 1949.
Jayne met her husband George Dutenhoeffer of Roscoe, S.D., at a dance hall after he returned from serving in the 11th Airborne Division during World War II. Dancing, and especially the jitterbug, became a lifelong pleasure. The young couple married on August 27, 1949, and started their family in Aberdeen, before settling in Huron, where they raised their son, Doug and daughter, Peggy, along with their pet rabbits, cats, dogs, turtles, ducks, and raccoon.
Jayne thrived socially and was well-loved in her community, building lifelong friendships, many of whom were neighbors on 13th Street S.W. where the family lived until they built their home on Riverview Drive. Jayne was a devoted homemaker and worked for several years as an interior decorator at Fullerton Furniture, using her creative talents at work and at home where she painted, sewed, counted cross-stitched, and quilted. Always active, Jayne attended every school performance and game, organized fundraisers, and loved golf, bridge, baking, and travel. She is especially remembered for her humor, mischief, sense of adventure, and her commitment to others. Jayne was deeply religious and believed in the value of life and in caring for all of God’s creatures, from delivering Meals-On-Wheels to nurturing the many animals she loved.
Her love of life extended to her grandchildren and their friends who were always welcome in the home she created with her late husband, George, where the doors were always open, and inside filled with love, home cooking, pool games, and a fridge stocked with Pepsi. In 1992 at the age of 61, Jayne, a daily jogger, started a long annual birthday tradition of running the 10-mile jaunt from her home to Cavour, S.D. to prove to her grandchildren that “you can do anything you put your mind to.” Her philosophy of life is summed up in her favorite quote: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, “Wow, what a ride!!!”
Jayne is preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and an infant sister Delores Caroline.
She is survived by her son Doug Dutenhoeffer and his wife Tina, daughter Peggy Mahowald and her husband Denis, grandchildren Misti Beed, Tyler Mahowald, Peter Mahowald, Ben Mahowald, great-grandson Trey Hand, and her cat Susie. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Beadle County Humane Society of Huron.
Visit www.welterfuneralhome.com
