Delores Reurink

Delores Darlene (Swier) Reurink passed into the loving hands of her Savior on Friday, August 2, 2024 while at the Sanford Foundation Cottage. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Delores was born in Hartford, South Dakota to William and Gertrude (Schut) Swier on April 3, 1933. She was the oldest of seven children and took on many responsibilities on the farm. She was adept at milking the cows, feeding chickens and gathering eggs. Working with pigs was NOT something she enjoyed! She also helped with harvesting, driving the trucks to the elevator at a young age. She became an accomplished seamstress early in her life. She would travel to Sioux Falls with her mom to purchase material for her next creation.

Delores met Frank Reurink in Colton, South Dakota. They were married on September 2, 1949.

Frank and Delores lived most of their early married life in Colton. They were devoted parents to four children, David, Beverly, Lori and Todd. Delores was active in the First Reformed Church in Colton, serving with the ladies aide and as a Sunday School teacher. As a talented seamstress, Delores taught Stretch and Sew classes to many of the ladies in the Colton area. Throughout the years she sewed clothing for her family, including suits, wedding dresses and jeans. All of the children and grandchildren received multiple quilts made by mom/grandma. Her cooking and baking skills were unrivaled. Her children were thrilled at the end of the school days to come home to freshly baked bread or sweet treats.

Once her children were out of the nest, Delores worked at several places including Litton Industries and at the Mary Jane Brown Nursing Home in Luverne, Minnesota.

Frank and Delores moved to Lake Poinsett where they were active in the Methodist Church in Arlington and served as substitute rural mail carriers. They also had a lawn service business providing services to residents of Lake Poinsett. They later moved to Luverne, then to St. Cloud, Minnesota, where they spent the summer months and wintered in Mesa, Arizona. They returned to South Dakota and resided in Sioux Falls until their death.

Delores’ loving husband died three days prior to their 70th wedding anniversary. The party that was planned for their 70th anniversary was instead changed to a visitation service for Frank, the love of her life.

Grateful for having the privilege to share in her life are her sons, David (Barb) Reurink of Mesa, Arizona, and Todd (Ann) Reurink of Sioux Falls; and daughters, Beverly (Mike) Berg of Sioux Falls, and Lori Otten (Darnell Heinrich) of Fargo, North Dakota. Her eyes would always light up when she received visits and phone calls from her grandchildren, Clint (Dana) Berg, Jenni (Lee) Yanke, Jessica (Carey) Tri, Nicholas Otten, Sara Reurink, Ashley (Richard) Gonzalez and Anthony Reurink; great-grandchildren, Ainsley, Audrey and Arianna Berg, Abby and Matthew Yanke, Ryder, Camdyn and Brady Tri, Easton Otten, and Orlando Gonzalez. Also grateful for sharing in her life are her brothers, Leon Swier and Floyd Swier; along with multiple sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank; parents, William and Gertrude Swier; three brothers, Marvin, James and Larry Swier; and a sister, Joyce Eggen.

Memorials may be directed to Sanford hospice cottages.