Terry D. Flakus

Terry D. Flakus, age 75 of Sioux Falls, SD passed away at his home on February 14, 2026.  His Family will be present for Visitation from 5:00-7:00 PM on Monday, March 2, 2026, at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory, Sioux Falls.  His Memorial Service will be 2:00 PM Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at George Boom Funeral Home.  Interment at Hills of Rest Cemetery.  

Terry Dennis Flakus was born April 20, 1950 to Sylvan and Marguerite Flakus in Sioux Falls, SD. He lived almost the entirety of his life in Sioux Falls, but he enjoyed traveling around the country, seeing the lay of the land, as his father used to say. He also enjoyed staying in towns like Sierra Vista, Arizona or Biloxi, Mississippi. He would visit the local museums and learn something about the people, the history and the factors that kept the economy alive.

Terry graduated from O’Gorman High School in 1968 and then took up training in electrical engineering at DeVry University in Chicago. He returned to Sioux Falls and worked with his father (Sylvan Flakus) at his Toledo Scales office. Terry’s arrival was welcome as electronic devices were quickly changing the technology of scales and food machines. One of the first such devices to come on the scene in Sioux Falls and other nearby towns was the weight-bearing load cell. This helped dairies determine how much milk they had in a given plant containment tank. Terry went on to help manage his father’s second office, in Sioux City, Iowa.

Terry joined the Sioux Falls Fire Department in 1974 where he gained fire fighting experience.  After many awards he was promoted to Fire Inspector, and retired from that position in May of 2003. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree with Distinction from National College in Sioux Falls, SD in August of 1986.  

Though he was somewhat shy at times and certainly not talkative, he did sometimes tell a good story. When he was in the right mood he would often talk about people he met in different parts of the country or adventures in fire fighting and fire inspections. He was frequently moved by viewing the aftermath of a fire, especially in cases where a person perished. 

In addition to the aforementioned travel he enjoyed, Terry was also a fan of music. In the 1950s and early 1960s there were no radio  stations in Sioux Falls playing the popular songs enjoyed by teenagers, so Terry would tune into one of the powerful Midwestern stations like WLS in Chicago and the 50,000-Watt KOMA in Oklahoma City. He would often stay up late in the night to hear the do-wop songs, the early rock and roll classics and soul music. He developed eclectic tastes and bought albums by British blues singer John Mayall, Cream and the Paul Butterfield band. Later, he developed an interest in Jazz.

Terry was preceded in death by his parents, Sylvan and Marguerite Flakus. His survivors include his son, Jeremy (Lucinda), who currently resides in Kentucky and his granddaughter Jasmine, who lives in Michigan. He is also mourned by his brother, Greg (Aurora), his sister Kathy, and his nieces and nephews.