Hugo Mertens, 89, of Valley Springs, passed away Tuesday, April 7, 2026, surrounded by his family at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls. Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 13, 2026, at Risen Savior Catholic Church in Brandon. Visitation with the family present will take place from 2-4 p.m., with a Liturgical Wake Service followed by Rosary starting at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at George Boom Funeral Home-Brandon Valley Chapel in Brandon. Burial will take place at the South Dakota State Veterans Cemetery in Sioux Falls. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Risen Savior Catholic Church in Brandon in Hugo’s name.
Hugo Joseph Mertens, Jr., was born Dec. 18, 1936 in Perham, Minn., to Hugo Joseph Mertens, Sr. and Alice Kugler Mertens.
Obituaries
Ryan “Chub” Eitreim, 52, of Polk City, Iowa, formerly of Garretson, passed away on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. His memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory in Sioux Falls. Visitation with the family present will be held one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will take place at Summit Hill Cemetery in Garretson at a later date.
Dennis Paul Swanson, 73, of Lennox, SD, formerly South Haven, Minn., died Saturday, April 4, 2026, at his home from health reasons.
Ryan “Chub” Eitreim, 52, of Polk City, Iowa, formerly of Garretson, passed away on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. His memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory in Sioux Falls. Visitation with the family present will be held one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will take place at Summit Hill Cemetery in Garretson at a later date.
Ryan G. Eitreim was born on Jan. 24, 1974, to Gordy and JoAnn Eitreim Keyser. Ryan grew up in Sherman, S.D., for the first nine years of life and then moved to Garretson with his parents and brother. He attended all of his years of schooling at Garretson.
Tammy Sue DenHerder, 65, of Valley Springs, died Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, after a short battle with lung cancer.
Amy Jurrens, 54, of George, Iowa, died Sunday, March 22, 2026, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.
Thomas Paul Dubs, 38, of Brandon, died unexpectedly on Monday, March 23, 2026, in Brandon.
Leslie “Les” Broughton, 78, of Sioux Falls, died Friday, March 27, 2026, at Ava’s House in Sioux Falls. A service will be held at a later date.
Verla Mae Baden was born on Sept. 2nd, 1938, in Pipestone, Minn., to Ernest and Alma (Wittrock) Hubner. She was baptized on Oct. 2, 1938, and confirmed on June 22, 1952, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pipestone. Verla grew up in Pipestone, graduating from Pipestone High School in 1956. She furthered her education by attending Mankato Commercial College in Mankato, Minn., for Business Machines and Accounting, graduating in 1957. Upon her graduation, Verla started at the First Bank in Pipestone. She was united in marriage to Glenn Dale Baden at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Oct. 30, 1965. Together they were blessed with one daughter, Kara Lee. They made their home in Pipestone for 38 years until they moved to Brandon in 2003. Verla continued her career with First Bank in Pipestone for almost 29 years before taking an early retirement. She then began working temporarily part-time for Farm Credit Services. In 1991, Verla started as the Preschool Assistant at St. Paul Lutheran Church, being devoted to this for the next 13 years.
Verla passed away peacefully at the Pipestone County Hospice at the age of 87 years, six months and 16 days.
Geraldine “Pat” L. Wehrkamp, 93, of Sioux Falls, died peacefully with family by her side on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at Bethany Home in Sioux Falls. Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Church of St. Mary, Sioux Falls. Visitation will be from 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory, Sioux Falls, with a Liturgical Wake Service beginning at 6:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the St. Francis House or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Visit www.georgeboom.com for an online guestbook.
Geraldine “Pat” Louise Fischer was born Oct. 14, 1932, in Britton, S.D., to Lambert and Adelaide (Meyer) Fischer. She lived in Genesco, N.D., for 13 years, then moved to Watertown, where she continued her education, graduating from high school in 1950. She came to Sioux Falls and worked at John Morrell in the IBM department.
