Violette Schimmel

Violette Schimmel, age 84, of Milbank, SD, passed away on Saturday, December 24, 2022, at Milbank Area Hospital.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, December 29, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at Living Word Lutheran Church in Milbank, SD. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Mundwiler Funeral Home in Milbank and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday. Rev. Melanie Reiners will officiate the service and interment will be at Milbank City Cemetery.

The service will be live streamed and recorded and will be viewable at the bottom of this page.

Violette Rose (McCrea) Schimmel was born in rural Grant County, SD, to Kenneth and Margaret (Schwandt) McCrea on February 17, 1938. She attended country school through eighth grade and went on to Webster High School and graduated with the Class of 1956. Violette was united in marriage with Lester Schimmel on October 24, 1956, at the American Lutheran Church in Webster, SD. The couple made their home in rural Twin Brooks, SD.

Violette and Lester milked cows and farmed together until 1977. After they retired from farming, Lester started his own construction business while Violette was busy raising their two children and also helping area farmers with farm and field work.

In the Spring of 2016, Lester and Violette moved to Rita’s Elderly Home Care in Milbank, SD, following a house fire. In May of 2019, Violette moved to assisted living in Milbank and in November of 2022, she moved into Avantara Nursing Home.

Violette loved to spend time with family and enjoyed the challenges of many Scrabble games, cards, reading, and doing puzzles. She also enjoyed gardening, canning, quilting, and crocheting. In her younger years, Violette loved to hunt deer and to fish. She always had the Minnesota Twins on either the radio or the television. Violette was an avid letter writer and wrote her family and friends often. They said it was more like reading a good story than a letter from a friend.

Violette is survived by her two children: Karla Boone of Blomkest, MN; and Kevin (Sheila) Schimmel of Webster, SD; her five grandchildren: Josh Boone, Shelby (Matt) Deering, Kelsey (Trecy) Zirbel, Kayla Schimmel, and Jared Schimmel; her five great-grandchildren: Natalie and William Boone; Benjamin Deering; and Teagan and Tenley Zirbel; and her siblings: Melbourne McCrea, Orgene (Karen) McCrea, and Verda McCrea.

Preceding her in death were her husband, Lester in 2018; parents, Kenneth and Margaret McCrea; son-in-law, Roy Boone; and sister and brother-in-law, Verona and Larry Sauer.