Skip to main content

Hazel Kortleever

Lead Summary

Hazel Kortleever
Hazel Mildred Kortleever, 88, Luverne, died Saturday, July 28, 2018, at Sanford Hospice Cottage in Luverne.
A funeral service was Wednesday, Aug. 1, at Zion Lutheran Church in Adrian. Burial was in the Grand Prairie Cemetery in Ellsworth.
Hazel McKeever was born July 13, 1930, to John and Martha (Nielsen) McKeever in Humboldt, South Dakota.  She attended country school near Montrose, South Dakota, and later finished high school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Hazel married Wilbur “Bud” Kortleever on Dec. 7, 1948, in Hardwick. The couple farmed in Kanaranzi Township, rural Ellsworth, before moving to the farm in Grand Prairie Township, rural Ellsworth in 1975. She worked with animals all her life. As a child she worked with horses on the family farm. She milked cows for 45 years, she bought and sold cattle and did all the vaccinating, and she managed the care of all the animals on their farm. She educated herself on the care of livestock by studying The Merck Veterinary Manual.  She worked at the Nickel-plate in downtown Sioux Falls as a young  girl, and Bud and Hazel both worked at Morrell’s when they were first married. They wintered in the Texas Valley for over 12 years.  Hazel moved to Luverne in 2010.
She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Adrian. She enjoyed cooking and baking for the family, planting trees, shrubs and flowers.
Hazel is survived by three daughters,  Sherry  (Alfred) Aeikens, Ellsworth, Marilyn (Ken) Plueger, Harrisburg, South Dakota, and Jody (Randy) Delfs, Hardwick; seven grandchildren, Daniel Kruger, Sharla Evans, Jack Harms, Mark Aeikens, Jonathon Swenson, Jesson Delfs, Jayson Delfs; and 11 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Wilber Kortleever on May 21, 1998; a son, John; a daughter, Shirley Kruger; a son-in-law, Dwayne Kruger; a grandson, Jamison Delfs; and three sisters, Lily Ordal, Bernice Patrick, and Marcella McKeever.
Arrangements were provided by Dingmann Funeral Home of Luverne, www.dingmannandsons.com.
(0802 F)

You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.