Obituary of Dale Bormann

Walter (Dale) Bormann, age 90, went to his heavenly home July 10, 2023 following hospice care at Aurora-Brule Nursing Home in White Lake, SD. Funeral service will be Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 10:30 am at St. John’s Lutheran Hillside Church, with burial to follow at St. John’s Lutheran Blooming Valley Cemetery, rural Corsica, SD.

Dale was born June 25, 1933 at the family farm in rural Corsica, SD, to Walter and Bertha (Titze) Bormann. He graduated 8th grade from rural Beulah School near his home, as did his father and four siblings. Dale served in the US Army from 1952-55, being stationed in Munich, Germany, where he was Survey Chief for the 280 caliber atomic cannon. Upon returning home, Dale farmed, as well as being Manager of the Corsica Sale Barn, as “he knew people and he knew cattle”.

On June 20, 1958, Dale married Donna Mae Van Ekeren in the Corsica Christian Reformed Church. A son, Mark Alan, was born February 10, 1961, and he was the light of his parents’ life. Tragically, he died as a result of a car accident on August 21, 2002. Dale’s wife, Donna Mae, passed away on May 19, 2022.

Dale was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Blooming Valley Church, where he served as a Deacon and Trustee. He was also the Blooming Valley Cemetery Sexton from 1982-2023, where he diligently cared for and oversaw all cemetery records, organized each Memorial Day Service, placed flags on all veteran’s graves, and made sure there were flowers on old graves and graves that had no visiting family. Dale was instrumental in planning, designing, and securing the Blooming Valley Cemetery Memorial Monument, which was dedicated May 30, 2021, honoring 116 original pioneers and 53 veterans of Blooming Valley Church.

Dale was an avid genealogist, always searching for information on his ancestry. He spent many years collecting old photos and information, and had traced his family back to 1760 in Obernbeck, Germany. His accumulated boxes of information are a treasure trove for ancestry lovers.

Dale also loved gardening, and for many years he maintained gardens at both his farm acreage and his home in town. He liked to share his vegetables with others, with tomatoes being his specialty, and he especially enjoyed canning with his good friend, Allan Van Roekel.

Dale loved children, and although he didn’t have grandchildren of his own, he was always interested in hearing about and seeing photos of others. He made it a point to keep up-to-date on his nieces and nephews, their children and their grandchildren, always saying “that’s what life is all about”.

Grateful for having shared his life are his sister, Mardell (Bormann) Dockendorf; 19 nephews and nieces, 35 great-nephews and nieces, 37 great-great nephews and nieces, cousin Deon Stredde, brother-in-law Gordon (Mary Lou) Kredit, along with some very good friends who have stood by him and helped him through the years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Bertha Bormann; wife, Donna Mae; son, Mark; siblings and in-laws: Donald W. and Bernice Borman, Beverly and Gilbert Bamberg, Delmar and Eunice Bormann, Dale Dockendorf; parents-in-law, John and Hilda Van Ekeren; sister-in-law, Doris (Van Ekeren) Kredit; cousin John Orlon Ruff.