Carol Ruth Petit Kruger Moore Poppenga, of Lennox, S.D., passed from this life on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at Ava’s house in Sioux Falls at the age of 89.
Arrangements are by Jarman Family Funeral Home in Lennox.
Carol was born in the town of Bruce, Rock County, Minn., on Dec. 13, 1936, the daughter of Irvin William and Christine (Bannick) Petit.
She spent her childhood on a farm southwest of Luverne, Minn., where she attended Pleasant View Country School until the sixth grade, then Beaver Creek Elementary and High School. She was a cheerleader for the Beaver Creek basketball and football teams.
On Dec. 13, 1952, Carol married Harvey Lewis Kruger at the First Baptist Church in Luverne. To this union were born six children. They lived for a spell in Pickstown, S.D., where Harvey hauled gravel to help build the Fort Randall dam.
The family later moved to Luverne and Pipestone where they were in the trucking business. On Nov. 13, 1965, Carol lost Harvey in a trucking accident.
In February of 1966, she and the children moved to a home on Blue Mound Ave in Luverne. On August 28, 1967, Carol was married to Robert Darnell Moore in Luverne. To this union were born two children and with the five children that Robert had previously, the family totaled 13 children.
Carol was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Luverne where she held numerous positions over the years she lived there.
On July 28, 1991, Carol married Wilfred Rodney Poppenga in Lennox, S.D., and the two have shared a life together for the last 35 years, dancing, traveling and enjoying time with family. In 1996, they began wintering in Arizona, first in Mesa then Apache Junction, while still enjoying summers at home in Lennox.
Family and friends will forever cherish the many creations Carol gifted them, from the storybooks she wrote for each grandchild, to her artwork and the flowers she lovingly cultivated.
Besides her parents, Carol was preceded in death by her first husband Harvey Kruger and second husband Robert Moore Sr., sons Lewis Lee, John Wesley and Paul Irvin Kruger, step-son Billy Joe Poppenga, sister Mae Lou Petit, brother Irvin Petit and his wife Patricia.
She is survived by her husband, Wilfred “Willy” Poppenga of Lennox; children Dean (Deb) Kruger of Brandon, Harvey “Bill” (Donna) Kruger of Sioux Falls, Rob (Gigi Krell) Moore of Lennox, Kathryn (Charles) Crow of Amboy, Minn., and Trudy (David) Tollefson of Dunedin, Fla.; step-children, Cindy (Kevin) Kelley, Darnell (Ruth) Moore, Sharla (David) Steuck, Darwin (Debbie) Moore, Sandi (Tom) Newgard, and Shari (Terry) Altermatt; daughter-in-law Barbara Kruger and daughter-in-law Barb Kruger; as well as numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren; and many extended family and dear friends.
