Gary Eiesland

GARY ALAN EIESLAND was born March 15, 1947 to Verne and Ruth Eiesland. Verne passed away when Gary was yet a tiny baby so he and his mother Ruth moved back to Highmore, SD where she married Merle Westcott. From there they lived in Holabird, SD and gave birth to their daughter, JoAnn in 1950. Gary’s family had a small store, gas station, and Merle was the postmaster. Gary attended grade school at Holabird. A majority of Gary's time was spent fishing, hunting, and playing with the other children as well as his sister. He was a very good piano player and loved music. Gary was proud of his dad, Merle who was a war hero, and loved fishing with him and listening to the war stories. Holabird was a small tight knit community and a wonderful place to grow up. Even into Gary’s older years he has always held a deep connection to his childhood friends and memories. Gary went to Highmore High School. He won the State Championship in Debate and graduated in 1965.
From high school Gary went to Huron College, majoring in public speaking and Theology. He married Diana Stoley in 1966. They had three children – Roxane, Lisa and a son, Monte who passed away the day he was born. While going to college and living in Huron, Gary became employed with Radio Shack. From there Gary and his family moved to Rochester, MN where Gary was promoted to Store Manager with the same company.
Gary and his family then moved to Milwaukee, WI where he became employed for Schaak Electronics. It was there that he became store manager, district manager and eventually their regional manager for the Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit area. Gary and Diana divorced and Gary moved to Pierre, SD where he met Sharon. They were married on July 1st, 1989 at the United Methodist Church.
While living in Pierre, Gary was employed with A&Z Music Store. He was also employed with the State of SD as a Supervisor in the Custodial Department. Gary and Sharon also enjoyed pheasant hunting with their friends from Blunt, Holabird and Highmore. They also enjoyed camping and fishing near Lake Oahe as well as at Mission Dam and Lake Chapelle.
Gary and Sharon moved to Colorado where they made their home in Dacono. Gary worked for Boulder County, CO where he managed and supervised over 100+ employees at several state buildings in the Boulder area.
While living in Colorado, Gary and Sharon loved riding their Harley Davidson motorcycle. During the Christmas season, Gary would decorate his motorcycle and pull a sled behind it - delivering Christmas presents to children dressed as Santa Claus. In his spare time, Gary also enjoyed listening to music and time spent with the grandkids. He also enjoyed building keepsakes out of wood, wood-burning and other wood type artwork while hanging out in his shed. They also enjoyed having friends over on the weekends and grilling out. Gary retired in 2012 and he and Sharon moved to Sioux Falls, SD. Gary loved being back in SD where he could hunt, fish and reminisce with old friends again.
Due to an unforeseen illness, Sharon and Gary moved into Edgebrook Estates in Edgerton, MN in the Spring of 2017. He wrote several short stories about his life and enjoyed sharing those stories with those he loved and acquaintances alike. Gary spent time sitting and visiting with his wife as well as waiting to meet her each morning for breakfast. Gary would write Sharon small notes and leave them for her to read -and keep- which she was able to do with the help of the nursing staff at the facility. Sharon passed away on March 2nd, 2020 and Gary, having a greater desire to be with his wife, passed on peacefully to be with her 7 weeks later on Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
Gary was preceded in death by his parents, Verne Eiesland, Merle and Ruth Westcott; son, Monte; and wife, Sharon.