75 years of love - Harley and Dorothy Skyberg reflect on a lifetime together

Seventy-five years ago, on Oct. 22, 1950, Harley and Dorothy Skyberg stood in a little basement church off 11th and West in Sioux Falls and promised to love each other for life. Neither of them could have ever imagined then that their vows would carry them through a lifetime of laughter, hard work, and love that has spanned three-quarters of a century.

“I didn’t know people lived this long,” Dorothy jokingly says.

When the young couple exchanged “I do’s”, Harley was 20, Dorothy, just shy of 18. Their story, however, began much earlier – along Elmwood, just east of Kiwanis, on the west side of Sioux Falls, where they were among a group of kids who played together after Harley and his mother moved into the neighborhood from nearby Luverne, Minn.

“I was probably 10 and he was 12,” Dorothy recalled. “We had a bunch of kids around the same age and we did a lot of things together. There must have been a dozen of us in the neighborhood, but he didn’t pay me any attention.”

Life pulled them apart when Dorothy was 12 and she went to live with her grandparents following her mother’s passing. Harley joined the U.S. Navy at 17. As a Navyman, he learned the art of boxing.

“Anyone wants a fight, I’ll fight ‘em,” he toys, mimicking the moves of the sport. “I enjoyed doing that. I don’t know why, because you can get the hell beat out of yourself, but I was lucky.”

He left the Navy after two years, returning home to help support his mother, who had separated from his father.

After Harley’s return home, fate – and a bit of courage – brought them together again. Dorothy was working summers at the Nickel Plate Café when he strolled in one day.

“He asked if he could take me home,” she fondly remembers. “And we walked, because we didn’t have cars.”

As their story goes, it was a whirlwind courtship, as just a few weeks later, they were going steady. One month after that, Harley gave her a diamond ring.

“It was the 18th of July when he came in,” Dorothy clearly remembers. “By July 28, we were going steady. By Aug. 28, I got my diamond.” 

“She fell in love with me,” Harley teases.

On what was one of the happiest days of her life – their engagement – also came with a bit of sadness. Dorothy, who had graduated with a class of 10 from Larchwood, Iowa, said one of the girls and her boyfriend were on the road to Wall Lake and rolled their car. She died instantly, but the boyfriend didn’t receive a scratch, she recalled.

The couple were married on Oct. 22, 1950, and 14 months later, they welcomed their first child, Kenny. Two more sons followed. Gary was born 13 months after Kenny, and two years later, Ray joined their growing family.

Five years later – their only daughter, Bonnie – completed the family.

The Skybergs spent their early years in California, where Harley secured work. Son Kenny was only two months old when they left Sioux Falls for the West Coast. Harley first worked in the tire industry in California and then had an opportunity to learn the fencing industry. At this same time, Dorothy cared for their growing family.

“We lived out there nine years before Harley decided he wanted to come back and raise the kids on a farm,” Dorothy said. Bonnie was just a year old when they returned to South Dakota. It was here where the couple built a life together from the ground up – literally. They purchased 80 acres just south of Beaver Valley Lutheran Church along 484th Avenue and started Skyberg Fencing.

“That was our livelihood,” Dorothy said. “We worked for everything we had. We didn’t have help from our parents. We just did it together.”

They eventually bought an additional 120 acres, which they essentially rented out while Harley pursued the fencing business.

“The last 20 or so years, we rented the land out,” she said.

Dorothy worked outside the home for 10 years. When daughter Bonnie was about seven or eight, she went to LPN school and was assigned to the nursery.

The couple built not just a family but several homes over the years – each one a little bigger, a little brighter. Their children grew up, married, and raised families of their own. Today, the Skybergs’ legacy includes four children, eight grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

For nearly 30 years, Harley and Dorothy wintered in Texas, enjoying mild weather and good friends.

“You can’t fence or farm in the winter,” Dorothy reminds, “so we figured we might as well enjoy it.”

Now 92 and 95, the Skybergs call The Inn on Westport in Sioux Falls ‘home.’ After 60 years on their farmstead and a brutal winter three years ago, Dorothy told Harley, “We’re not doing another year looking out the window all winter long.”

They fill their days at The Inn with cards, bingo, and Harley’s favorite pastime – shooting pool.

“He’s still a pool shark,” Dorothy touts.

When asked about their secret to 75 years of marriage, Dorothy is quick to answer, “We worked for everything we had and we didn’t need everything we had, and you don’t give up.”

Harley adds, “I just loved her – always did, always will.”

From childhood friends to lifelong partners, Harley and Dorothy’s story is one of simple devotion, steady faith, and unshakable companionship. As Dorothy put it, “Life hasn’t always been easy – but it’s been good. We did pretty well.”