Verla E. Sturdevant

Verla Elaine Rebel Sturdevant, age 97, of Sioux Falls, former business office staffer at Sioux Valley (now Sanford) and Dell Rapids Hospitals, Brandon elections official and co-owner/operator of Lyle’s Dairy Queen in Dell Rapids, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 surrounded by her family.  Her Memorial Service will be 10:00 AM Saturday, March 1, 2025 at George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory, Sioux Falls.  Visitation will begin an hour prior to the service.  Interment at Hills of Rest Cemetery.  The family requests that memorial gifts be directed to the El Riad Transportation Fund and the Dow Rummel Foundation.

Verla was born on her family’s farm near Olivet, SD, on Feb. 15, 1928, the only child of Henry and Elda Hehn Rebel. A 1946 graduate of Hurley High School, she obtained a teaching certificate from General Beadle State College, then taught for two years at a multi-grade rural school near Parker. She then moved to Sioux Falls, where she graduated from Nettleton Commercial College in 1949 and worked for several years at Sunshine Mutual Insurance Co.

Married on Nov. 11, 1950, Verla and her husband Lyle V. Sturdevant embarked on a remarkable 71-year partnership in raising a family, building a business and serving the community. In 1957 they purchased Lyle’s Dairy Queen in Dell Rapids, making it a full-service drive-in restaurant with special appeal to the area’s teenagers. For the next 13 years the business was a family affair, employing their children Lori and Jim from young ages. Verla also held leadership positions in the Dell Rapids Eastern Star, the United Methodist Church, the PTA and the Dell Rapids High School band parents organization.

After selling the Dairy Queen in late 1969, Verla returned to her bookkeeping career, first at the Dell Rapids Community Hospital, then at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls. In 1974, the family moved to Brandon, where Lyle served as postmaster. That city was their home for 44 years. While there, Verla served as an elections official for several decades and worked with Lyle to organize its annual Loyalty Day observance and exercise financial oversight of Faith Presbyterian Church.

Serving children in need of medical care through the El Riad Shrine was Lyle and Verla’s particular focus. Verla held leadership posts in both the El Riad Shrine Auxiliary and the Daughters of the Nile, and participated fully in Lyle’s work as El Riad clown and circus ticket-seller for more than 55 years. Their home was a place of hospitality for several generations of Shriners.

Since 2017, Lyle and Verla lived at Dow Rummel in Sioux Falls, where they appreciated the kindness and professionalism of the staff and the friendship of their fellow residents.

Verla is survived by her daughter, Lori and her husband, Martin Vos of St. Paul, MN; her son, James and his wife, Diane of Sioux Falls; five grandchildren, Ted Carroll (Kendra Grams), John Carroll (Brianna Olson-Carr), Emelia Carroll, Anna Sturdevant Jankord (Bradley Jankord) and David Sturdevant (Anja Cucak); five great-grandchildren, Tobias and Anika Carroll, Grace and James Jankord, and Luka Sturdevant; and sister-in-law Eleanor Sturdevant.

Verla was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Elda (Hehn) Rebel; and her husband, Lyle Sturdevant.