Russell Carver

** VIDEO TRIBUTE CAN BE VIEWED BELOW ** Russell Carver, age 95 of Belle Fourche, died Thursday, March 16, 2017 at the Rapid City Regional Hospital. A Celebration of Life Service will take place 10:30am Friday, May 12, 2017 at the United Methodist Church in Belle Fourche with Pastor Bob Duemig officiating. Visitation will be held 5 to 7pm Thursday at Leverington Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche. Inurnment will take place in the Little Dane Church Cemetery, near St. Onge. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Little Dane Church Cemetery. Russell I. Carver was born December 9, 1921 in Wiley, Colorado. He was the son of Leon and Lena Marie (Clark) Carver. Russ grew up in the Wiley area. He was united in marriage to Gladys Girard and to this union four children were born: Carolyn, Tom, Jim, and Kit. Following their marriage Russ and Gladys settled in the Woonsocket SD area. Later the couple divorced and in the mid 1960’s, Russ moved to the Belle Fourche area. On November 30, 1968 Russ was united in marriage to Norma Jean Borg-Courtney in Spearfish. Shortly after their marriage, the family moved to a ranch located north of Belle Fourche. Together they owned and operated Henry Thompson Livestock for many years. Russ was an honest man who came from the era when a handshake was as good as a contract. He worked hard for many years. In August of 2010 Russ and Norma moved to Spearfish. Norma died in 2012 and in 2014, Russ moved to Rapid City at the Holiday Hills Retirement Center. Russ will be remembered for how much he loved kids. He was a fun grandpa, and always had a pocket full of suckers to hand out. He was a man who helped many people throughout his life. In his younger years, he earned his pilot’s license and enjoyed flying an airplane once in a while. He was a rodeo fan and he supported the local cowboys, including the Black Hills Roundup where you’d see him help park cars. Russ was a good man and he will be greatly missed by his family and friends. Russ is survived by daughter, Kelli (Kenny) McFarland of Belle Fourche, Carolyn (Ed) Jenkins of Sante Fe NM; son, Tom (Laura) of Rancho Murieta CA; step-daughters, Laura (Bob) Larson of Farmington NM, Sandra (Milan) Salzsieder of Spearfish; 14 grandchildren; 19 great grandchildren; 8 great great grandchildren; daughter-in-law, June Carver of Rancho Murieta CA, daughter-in-law, Judy Courtney of Spearfish; and sister, Wilma Durham of New Mexico. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Norma; and sons, Jim and Kit Carver; step-son, Wayne Courtney; and grandson, Casey McFarland. Celebration of Life 10:30 AM – Friday – May 12, 2017 United Methodist Church Belle Fourche, South Dakota   Officiant  Pastor Bob Duemig   Tributes Wilbur Newland – Cliff Crago   Special Music Pete Buer, Debra Leverington “I Want to Stroll Over Heaven With You” “Farther Along”, “Wake Up Dancing”, “Happy Trails” Cong. Hymn – “Just As I Am”   Honorary Urnbearers All of Russell’s Grandchildren   Urnbearers Kenny and Mindy Messer   Inurnment Little Dane Church Cemetery St. Onge, South Dakota