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Richard Walvante

Lead Summary

Richard “Dick” Walvante, 80, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, died Friday, April 15, 2016, at the Sanford USD Medical Center.
A celebration of life for both Dick and his wife, AnNette, who recently died of ovarian cancer, will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, June 19, at the Jasper Cemetery in Jasper with an open house to follow at 3 p.m. at the Brandon Lutheran Church in Brandon, South Dakota.
Richard Walvatne was born July 22, 1935, to J. Wilman and Fern (Lockwood) Walvatne in Sherman, South Dakota. When he was 5, his family moved to a farm in the Twin Brooks, South Dakota, area.  His father died when he was 14, and the farm was sold. He moved to Jasper, where he lived near his brother Wilbur and wife, Lona. 
In 1952 Dick enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving in Hawaii during the last days of the Korean War and later onboard ship to the Arctic.  He was discharged from the Navy in 1956 and returned to Jasper. 
On April 7, 1957, Dick married AnNette Lunning in Richfield.  They moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In the late 1960s they built a home east of Sioux Falls overlooking the Sioux River Valley, where they lived for over 44 years.
Following the Navy, Dick worked as a car and heavy truck mechanic. In 1962 he began working for the natural gas utility Cengas, Minnegasco, and MidAmerican Energy in Sioux Falls.  He retired after 35 years of working in several areas:  meter reading, meter repair, distribution line installation and repair, utility location and warehouse management.  After a year of retirement, both Dick and AnNette worked in seasonal positions for the Sioux Falls Park and Recreation Department. During their nearly 59 years together, they were avid campers and travelers, enjoyed Dixieland and Ragtime Jazz, and journeyed to California and elsewhere for annual jazz festivals.
Dick is survived by two children, Gary (Julie) Walvante, West Linn, Oregon, and Susan (Ronald) Lane, Sioux Falls; six grandchildren; a sister Janice (Dale) Kockx; AnNette’s sister and brother, ArDette (Jerry) Gustafson, Edina, and AlRoy (Sharon) Lunning, Westminster, Colorado; and seventeen nieces and nephews.
Arrangements were by Heritage Funeral Home of Sioux Falls, www.heritagesfsd.com.
 (0616 F)

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