Alva Shoemaker

** VIDEO TRIBUTE CAN BE VIEWED BY CLICKING WEBLINK ABOVE ** Alva Shoemaker, age 97 of Belle Fourche, died Monday October 13, 2014 at the Belle Fourche Regional Senior Care Center, surrounded by her loving family. Services will be held 10:30 am Friday October 17th at St. James Lutheran Church in Belle Fourche and 2 pm Saturday October 18th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Carthage SD. Visitation will be held 5 to 7 pm Thursday at Leverington Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche, and one hour prior to both services. Interment will take place in Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery, in Carthage SD. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Trinity Lutheran Church, St. James Lutheran Church, or Hospice of the Northern Hills. Alva Neline Person was born March 20, 1917 on a farm in Green Valley Township, Miner County, South Dakota. She was the daughter of Ivar and Anna (Ohlson) Person. Alva was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran faith and she was an active member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Carthage all her life. Alva taught Sunday school and was a member of the Luther League and Ladies Aid. She attended school in the Argonne Consolidated School and graduated as Valedictorian of the class in 1935. Alva received her teachers training at Wessington Springs and she taught at the Lippott School in Redstone Township. On December 21, 1939 she was united in marriage to Lloyd Shoemaker at her mother’s home in Carthage. To this union 2 sons were born: Curtis and Larry. Alva and Lloyd farmed for many years northwest of Carthage. Lloyd also did some grain and livestock trucking. In 1990 they moved into Carthage. Lloyd died April 21, 2001 and in 2005 Alva moved to Belle Fourche South Dakota to be closer to her sons. For the past several years, she has been a resident at the Belle Fourche Regional Senior Care Center, where she loved the staff and made many friends. Alva will be remembered for being a gracious lady who was kind and loving. She enjoyed games like Scrabble and card games, and she also enjoyed jigsaw puzzles and crossword puzzles. Family gatherings were always a highlight to her. She loved her family very much and she will be missed greatly. Grateful for having shared her life are her sons, Curt (Val) of Belle Fourche, Larry (Mary) of Belle Fourche; 5 grandchildren, Vince, Steve, Jared, Keith, and Kaye; 2 step-grandchildren, Brittany and Erin; 9 great grandchildren, Braden, Natalie, Sarah, Brandon, Bailey, Brittany, Allison, Nate, and Erin; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Lloyd; granddaughter, Vicki Lynn; an infant brother, Victor; and 3 sisters, Hilma Hattervig, Amy Heiserman, and Gladys Fors; and 2 nephews, Roger and Gene Hattervig. Funeral Services 10:30 A.M. – Friday – October 17th, 2014 St. James Lutheran Church – Belle Fourche, SD   2:00 P.M. – Saturday – October 18th, 2014 Trinity Lutheran Church – Carthage, SD   Officiants Pastor Jeff OttermanPastor LeShea Avery   Music “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, “Rock of Ages”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Amazing Grace” Pete Buer and Lorilee Nelson, accompanists   Casketbearers Mark Angus                                                Jerad Shoemaker David Hattervig                                           Keith Shoemaker Robin Hattervig                                        Vincent Shoemaker   Interment Trinity Lutheran Cemetery Carthage, South Dakota