Darlene Joann Matus

DARLENE JOANN MATUS was born on June 28, 1934 to Lloyd and Minnie (Henningsen) Emery in Luverne, Minnesota. Early in her childhood years, she moved with her family for a short time to live in Kansas while her father served in the United States Army. The family then returned to the Luverne area where she attended school and graduated from Beaver Creek High School in 1952. While in high school she was the Homecoming Queen, and although they weren’t dating yet, her future husband, Dale Matus, was the Homecoming King. Following graduation, Darlene moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where she worked in a secretarial position. A short time later, she returned to her home area and worked for J.D. Evans in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Along the way, her life’s path crossed Dale’s and on February 15, 1958, the couple was united in marriage at the Luverne United Methodist Church. Following marriage, they went to work on a sheep farm for Jim Dunn until 1961 when they found their home. They moved onto a farm three miles north and two miles west of Beaver Creek where they raised animals and farmed grain. A homemaker and mom of three boys, Darlene was also involved in the daily chores of the farm, milking cows and doing whatever needed to be done. She loved life on the farm with her family and knew the value of hard work. Darlene slowly moved toward retirement by spending time at their lake house in Canada during summers, but remained living on their farm during planting and harvest. On Wednesday, November 28, 2018 while at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Darlene went to be with her Lord at the age of 84 years and 5 months.

Darlene was a member of Palisade Lutheran Church near rural Garretson, South Dakota. She loved her WELCA women’s group and was very involved in the church. She enjoyed fishing and taking various guided fishing tours. On their excursions, she not only loved to fish but also enjoyed taking care of base camp and getting everything prepared for the day ahead. Just as in daily life, Darlene was always well prepared and organized. The couple purchased a cabin in 1983 in Waldof Bay, Ontario, Canada. They headed to the cabin as often as they could and always dedicated the first two weeks of August at the cabin to be together as a family. Darlene also liked to travel. Through the years she enjoyed trips to Park Rapids, Minnesota, New York City, down south, and Europe, where they were able to visit their exchange student from Switzerland. Darlene loved her grandchildren and always had a purse full of stickers to keep them entertained. She was devoted to her family unit as they were always her top priority.

Darlene is lovingly remembered by her husband, Dale of Beaver Creek; three sons and their families, Todd Matus of Beaver Creek and his daughter Heather Matus of Carrollton, Georgia and Todd’s special friend, Tammy Makram of Luverne and her son Mason Makram of Los Angeles, CA, Dan and Shanelle Matus of Sheldon, Iowa and their children, Todd Helmers, Trista Helmers and Tamsyn Matus all of Sheldon, Tim and Lori Matus of San Antonio, Texas and their children Derek Matus of New York City, New York, Luke (Noemie Gagnon-Bergeron) Matus of Boston, Massachusetts, Kyra Matus of Boston, and Lorin Burton, Lexi Burton and Landon Burton all of San Antonio; and her sister, Cheri (Dale) Macklanburg of Nevis, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her parents; and sister, Barbara Lowe.