HURON — A. Luverne Better, 88 of Huron, passed away peacefully Monday, April 30, 2018, at Huron Regional Medical Center surrounded by his family.
His funeral service will be 2:30 p.m., Friday, May 4, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Wolsey with burial in Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery Mausoleum. His visitation with the family present, will be from 1 p.m. until the time of the service at the church on Friday. 
Luverne Better was born December 17, 1929, at the Sprague Hospital in Huron to Albert and Gladys (Houck) Better of Broadland. He attended school at Broadland and Huron. Luverne served his country during the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1954. Luverne farmed on the family farm for many years until his retirement in 2004.
 After leaving the service, Luverne met the love of his life, Juanita Osterhoudt and they were married on March 11, 1954, in Des Moines, Wash.
 To start his “musical career” Luverne took piano lessons for three years—but then decided he could do it on his own in his own way—and started playing piano with his Dad’s band, the Al Better’s Band, at the age of 13. How his folks loved “showing him off” to friends and relatives in his young age! He played for dances for years with his Dad’s band and everybody enjoyed their music—dances were all the rage for entertainment those years. His dad passed away in 1967, and Luverne continued on with his own group, “The Vern Better’s Band,” playing music for dancing and listening pleasure, birthdays, anniversaries, bar music, occasional and special parties, and soothing dinner music.
 At one time his group worked for Rod Barnes at the Plains in Huron, on call for dances and musical entertainment whenever they were needed. Luverne also “set in” with various other traveling musical groups at the Plains, supplying his own piano techniques. He also worked at the old Hickory House Motor Inn in Huron—working six nights a week for four years, playing in the Piano Bar in the “Lipstick Lounge.”
 He played for several clubs and Senior Citizens gatherings. With all this modern technology in musical equipment and instruments, his group consisted of himself on piano with percussion and other variations, along with his trumpet man. People were impressed and amazed with the sound they had and the amount of music that two of them could put out—beyond belief! It was a precious special gift he had, a God-given gift which he thoroughly enjoyed.
 Grateful for having shared in Luverne’s life are his wife, Juanita of 64 years of Huron; sister, Betty Jean Flolo of Huron; two nieces; Dixie Dunnick, and Vickie (Teri) Zwieg of Huron; two nephews, Doug Stokes of Des Moines, Wash., and Rodney (Marsha) Dunnick of Sioux Falls; and many great-nieces and nephews; and great-great-nieces and nephews.
 Luverne was preceded in death by his parents; parents-in-law; sister-in-law, Billie Jean Stokes; brothers-in-law, Tom Flolo, and O.J. Stokes; niece, Cindy Lou Dunnick; great-nephews, Toby Huber, and Mitchell Dunnick; great-great-niece Dakota Kouf; and great-great-nephew, Dominic Huber.
 Memorials may be directed to American Heart Association or the Beadle County Humane Society.
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Paid Obituary