Lawrence G. Meemken

* VIDEO TRIBUTE CAN BE VIEWED BELOW *Lawrence G. Meemken, age 79 of Belle Fourche, died Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at his home, surrounded by his loving family. Mass of Christian Burial will take place 2:00 PM Friday, July 7th, 2017 at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Belle Fourche. Visitation will take place 5 to 7 pm Thursday at Leverington Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche. Inurnment will take place in Pine Slope Cemetery. Lawrence George Meemken was born November 5, 1937 in Black Duck, Minnesota. He was the son of Peter and Marie (Kuntsleben) Meemken. Following the death of his mother when he was just five years old, Larry moved to the Waite Park MN area. In 1955 he was married to Ella Van Vickle. Following their marriage they lived in the Twin Cities area where Larry worked at Lull Engineering. In 1977 the couple divorced. In 1985, Larry was united in marriage to Kathryn Shuckhart in Ipswich SD. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Magnolia MN where Larry dairy farmed. Larry loved life on the dairy farm where milking cows was something he really enjoyed. In 2000, they moved to Inwood IA where he worked at a hog nursery. In 2004 they moved to Granite Falls MN where Larry worked at the Prairie’s Edge Casino. In 2012 they retired to Belle Fourche where they have lived since. Larry was a hardworking man who had a soft heart for animals of every kind. He always had a joke to share and he was very proud of living the past 40 years without alcohol. Larry served as a spokesman for Alcoholics Anonymous to encourage people with his life story. He enjoyed watching birds, woodworking, and he was an excellent vegetable gardener. He will be greatly missed. Larry is survived by his wife, Kathryn of Belle Fourche; sons, Jonathon of Larchwood IA, Michael of Belle Fourche, Shane of Belle Fourche; Kevin of Mechanicsville MD, Jerome of St. Cloud MN, James of St. Peter MN, Larry of St. Cloud MN, Todd of St. Cloud MN, Duey VanVickle of Sauk Rapids MN; daughter, LeAnn Struble of Grand Forks ND; sisters, Ruth Kunkle of Maple Lake MN, Deloris Kunkle of Buffalo MN, Lenora Hinicker of Lexington MA; brother, Leroy Meemken of Meza AZ; 22 grandchildren; and 18 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; sons, David and Jeff;daughter, Theresa Meemken; sisters, Barbara Funk and Alma Pintoc; and brother, Marcus Meemken. Mass of Christian Burial 2:00 P.M. – Friday – July 7, 2017 St. Paul Catholic Church Belle Fourche, South Dakota   Celebrant – Father John Paul Trask   Music Cantor – Janet Higbee Organist – Wayne Richards “How Great Thou Art”, “Here I Am Lord”, “To You Oh Lord I Lift My Soul”, “Amazing Grace”, “Gift of Finest Wheat”, “Old Hundredth”, “May the Choir of Angels”   Gift Bearers Shane, Brady, and Nick Meemken   Urnbearers James Fletcher                         Jonathon Meemken Nathan Goldstein                            Shane Meemken   Inurnment Pine Slope Cemetery Belle Fourche, South Dakota