| Graduation Year | Class of 1944 |
| Date of Passing | Apr 26, 2008 |
| About | LOIS ILENE USHER Lois Ilene Usher passed away at home on April 26, 2008, in Herlong, Calif., at the age of 82. Lois (Tete) was born in Martin, S.D., on Dec. 17, 1925, the third of six children born to Frederick and Pansy Skalinder. She attended schools in Pine Ridge and Martin and graduated from Bennett County High School in 1944. On June 9, 1944, she married Robert (Turk) Usher at Walker Army Base in Walker, Kan. During his time overseas, Lois worked in clerical positions at a steel company in Long Beach, Calif., and then at the U.S. Naval Shipyard, San Pedro, Calif. After the war ended they returned briefly to Martin and then to Vermillion, S.D. where Robert attended the University of South Dakota. While in Vermillion, Lois worked as a clerk in a dentist office. The following years brought four sons, and they moved to Rapid City, S.D., where she worked for the city of Rapid City, to Texarkana, Texas, where she worked for KCMD-TV, and then to Benicia, Calif., where she began her career with the Department of Army as a payroll clerk at the Benicia Arsenal. In 1961 the family moved to Herlong, Calif., where she worked in the Comptroller Directorate, Finance and Accounting Division, Sierra Army Depot, until her retirement in 1974. Their retirement years were filled with travel throughout the West and Southwest and frequent trips home to visit family in South Dakota and Nebraska. They also enjoyed over thirty years as “snowbirds,” spending their winters in Arizona. She loved her music, dancing, and was a voracious reader. Prior to Robert’s passing on Oct. 7, 2007, they celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. Lois loved her family and found special joy in her nine grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by three sons Jim (Karen), Terry, Bob (Jean), daughter in-law Sidonie, brother Bill Skalinder (Gwen), along with numerous nephews and nieces. Preceding her in death were her son Jeffrey, parents, and siblings Fredell, Eldene, Lyle, and Velma. A graveside service was held in the Chilcoot Cemetery, Chilcoot, Calif., on May 3. Services were under the direction of Manni Funeral Home, Portola, Calif. |
