Geraldine Howey

Geraldine (Chapman) Howey, 98, formerly of Lodgepole SD and Watertown SD passed away at West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger ND on February 21, 2025. 

Geraldine was born in a small shack that her parents called home along the banks of the South Grand river near Lodgepole on October 23, 1926.  She was the oldest of 6 children born to Glen and Clara (Fredlund) Chapman.   

Geraldine grew up in the age where the main forms of transportation in those parts were by foot, horse, or train. At a time when the prairie was newly settled, fences were scarce, and electricity had not yet found its way to Perkins County. She spent much of her childhood helping her dad with outside chores.  She tended to the animals and spent many days herding the sheep. In recent years, she could still point to the hilltops where she slept some nights after leaving the house with a heel of bread in one pocket and scraps of fabric and sewing notions in the other.  She enjoyed the sunshine and sewing doll clothes while she supervised the movement of the flock.   Love of the land and the animals that roamed there never left her heart. 

Geraldine was able to build a little flock of her own with wages she earned by helping neighbors shear.  She was happiest when she was working.  Her younger cousin, Jim LeFebre, tells a story of marveling at the grittiness of the teenaged girl who would drive a team of horses and hay wagon past their place many summer mornings.  She would pitch the wagon full of loose hay and trot by later, on her way home to pitch it all off again one fork load at a time. 

When she completed schooling locally, her parents encouraged her to attend college.  They thought she should get out and experience more of the world.  She reluctantly sold her flock and headed East.  As she expected, she missed home very much and quickly decided college was not for her. While in Brookings, though, she was introduced to William J. "John" Howey by a friend.  They were married shortly after and made their home in Watertown.  They started their family in 1946 with the birth of their oldest son, LaVerne “Vern”, followed by a daughter, Elaine, and their youngest son, Allen.  A family member marveled at Geraldine raising "country kids” in the middle of the city. She taught them skills that she learned growing up, the value of hard work, and how to make the most of what they had. She always raised a large garden and utilized every bit of it.  She took on various jobs for neighbors and cleaned many birds for hunters during hunting season for extra money.  She also did some taxidermy work on the side.  She spent several years as a loyal employee at the local laundromat, where her bosses became her extended family.  She was a talented knitter & crocheter and gifted many items to friends and family. 

After her husband passed away in 2001, she longed to move back closer to home.  Her youngest son, Allen, moved her near Bison where she made her home for several years.  She enjoyed being back to country life.  Due to health reasons, Geraldine moved into an apartment in Bison followed by a move to Western Horizons Care Center in Hettinger, ND to spend her final two years.  

Over the course of nearly a century, Geraldine barely traveled out of the Dakotas, except for occasionally traveling across the state line to visit her daughter Elaine’s family in Minnesota. However, for her 95th birthday, she went on a very memorable surprise trip to Wyoming and Utah to visit her oldest son, Vern.  She loved seeing where he made his home and was in awe of the landscape and the history of the Oregon Trail.  On that trip, it was very evident how far we had come in her lifetime, from hauling buckets of water from the creek to public faucets that you merely had to wave your hand in front of for water.  From watching the clouds and trying to predict the weather about to besiege the prairie, to pulling the radar and forecast up on a handheld phone, that also did duty as a camera, calculator and computer.  Each day spent with her was a life lesson in humility.  There are few people who were able to witness such incredible changes in their lifetime.  

Geraldine was a faithful servant of Christ.  She enjoyed attending church on Sundays before her failing health and mobility limited her. She had a kind spirit and a generous heart.  Life was not easy much of the time, but you would never hear her complain.  She didn’t speak poorly of anyone.  She had a contentment, a gratitude, and a genuineness that was rare and deeply admired.   

The legacy of family that Geraldine leaves behind includes her son Vern of Granger, Wyoming, daughter Elaine (Dean) Ruhland, of Spicer, Minnesota, son Allen (Linda) of Bison, SD.  Three grandchildren, Lance Ruhland, Wilmar, MN Ebony Ruhland, Jersey City, NJ and Chantay (Brian) Scanlon, and one great granddaughter, Amaya Scanlon of Boca Raton, FL.  Geraldine is survived by her youngest sister, Leona Petro of Forsyth, MT. She will also be dearly missed by her nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family, and treasured friends. 

Preceding Geraldine in death were her parents Glen and Clara, her siblings, Lorraine Strid, Evelyn Gisselbeck, Nora “Irene” Strampher, and Glen “Albert” Chapman, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and her husband, John. 

Cremation was entrusted to Evanson Jensen Funeral Home. A memorial service is tentatively planned for this summer at the Camp on a beautiful hill overlooking the land she loved.