Armour – Jerald “Jerry” J. Knodel, 88, went to his heavenly home Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at Douglas County Memorial Hospital.  Funeral service will be Tuesday, June 3 at 10:30 am, with visitation beginning at 9:30 am, at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Armour.  This service will be livestreamed on Redeemer Lutheran Church’s YouTube page. There will be a celebration of Jerry’s life on Saturday, June 7 at 11:00 am at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Yankton.  Arrangements by Koehn Bros. Funeral Home in Armour.

Jerry was born March 1, 1937 to Erwin and Lea (Hochhalter) Knodel in Mitchell, SD.  At a young age, his family moved to Armour, SD where he attended Armour High School. From 1941 until 1962, he worked at Knodel Oil in Armour.  During this same time, he also worked for Wudel Chevrolet as a mechanic and became a Brunswick certified pin setter/ball return mechanic and worked for Armour and surrounding area   bowling alleys.  He moved to Rapid City, SD where he continued to repair bowling machines while attending National College of Business.  After graduating from NCB, Jerry began working as a PA for The Accounting Firm of Dunmire, Short and Company.  He moved to Yankton, SD in 1968 where he worked as an accountant for Dale’s Electronics until 1974 when he began working for the City of Yankton as the city finance officer, retiring in 1995.  In 1981, Jerry and his staff were awarded the National Finance Officers Association Accreditation for Municipal Accounting.  This honor was a first for any South Dakota city.   He was co-owner of H&R Block during his time in Yankton and also continued to work for H&R Block after retirement from the City of Yankton. Jerry was united in marriage to Jean Pesicka on October 21, 1978.    He was a sport shooting enthusiast and a member of several gun clubs and the NRA. He also enjoyed driving antique tractors with the Tri State Old Iron Tractor Association, Yankton and the Twin Rivers Tractor Club, Delmont.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife, Jean of Armour; 4 children:  Bonnie Griggs of Yankton; Dana Knodel of Mokena, IL; Jay Knodel of Klamath Falls, OR; and Barbara Schrader of Harrisburg, SD; a sister, Shirley Dale of Ft. Worth, TX, 11 grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews and his 2 dogs, Chico and Molly.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Virginia Peiman; a son-in-law, Kelly Schrader; and a brother-in-law, Floyd Pesicka.

There will be a slideshow posted as soon as they have been completed.