Obituary of Howard "Howie" Friederich

Howard “Howie” Friederich, 82, went to his heavenly home Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls surrounded by his family.  Funeral service will be Saturday, September 28 at 3:00 pm at First American Lutheran Church in Tripp with interment to follow in Grace Hill Cemetery.  Visitation will be Friday, September 27 from 5 to 7 pm with a 7:00 pm prayer service at First American Lutheran Church in Tripp.  Arrangements by Koehn Bros. Funeral Home in Parkston.

Howard was born December 18, 1941, to Ruben and Hulda (Bueber) Friederich at Scotland, SD. He lived with his parents at several farms around the Kaylor area and ran a team of horses on a haystacker before he started grade school. He went to school at Weisz School and Lakeview through 8th grade. He was a member of the Kaylor 4-H Club, played softball with the Kaylor softball team and helped his dad on the family farm until he was drafted into the US Army in January 1964. He was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood and Fort Lewis. He married Jeanne Hillman August 27, 1967, and they had three children, Dawn, Debra, and Dean.

Howard farmed north of Kaylor and bought and sold livestock at 17 different auction barns throughout his farm career. He won the Outstanding Young Farmer award in 1972 from the Tripp Jaycees. He and Jeanne were leaders of the Kaylor 4-H Club, with Howard being a leader for almost 25 years, and their children were members of the club. Howard attended many auction sales throughout the state. While farming, he also worked at the Avon and Tripp sale barns and worked as a substitute mail carrier. He and Jeanne moved to Parkston in 2002 and he then worked as a bus driver.

Howard enjoyed collecting toy tractors and memorabilia and had an extensive collection. He was a member of the South Dakota Chapter 21 International Harvester Collectors Club. He was also a member of the Tripp American Legion Post, an avid Minnesota Twins fan, and enjoyed word searches. He and Jeanne camped for over 40 years at the South Dakota State Fair and other campgrounds around the state. Howard also enjoyed trips with Jeanne to Branson, Yellowstone and a recent trip to Spearfish. Howard battled numerous illnesses over the last 10 years of his life but continued to maintain his sense of humor and enjoyed teasing his family and friends.

Howard is survived by his wife, Jeanne; three children, Dawn (Richard) Leber of Parker, Deb (Darren) Bigge of Parkston, and Dean (Heather) Friederich of Kaylor; 9 grandchildren, Kimberly (Sawyer) Hansen, Andrew (Tara) Leber, Travis Leber (Grace DeWald), Brooke Bigge, Tucker Bigge, Wesley Bigge, Triston Friederich (Danessa Wilson), Makayla Friederich (Dominic Santiago) and Cole Friederich; and two great-grandchildren Vincent and Scottlyn Hansen.

He was preceded in death by his parents, in-laws Vincent and Peggy Hillman, and a nephew Mark Friederich.