Bennie Spring Obituary, Bennie Spring Has Died At 98

Bennie Spring Obituary, Death – At the age of 98, Bennie “Ben” Otis Spring died on July 2, 2023, at The Hospice House in Rapid City, South Dakota. He was the son of Frank Spring and Beatha (Kost) Spring and was born on December 28,1924 on the family farm in Custer County, South Dakota. Carol and Theodore “Ted” were already there, and Hazel came along a few years later. After their father’s death in 1937, Beatha was responsible for raising her children alone.

Bennie went to the one-room Fairview school about a mile from their house, all the way through eighth grade. He was happiest when he was outside, doing things like fishing, hunting, or ranching. At a young age, he and his brother Theodore would sneak away to go fishing at their favorite spot, and on one occasion, they found themselves in the company of none other than President Calvin Coolidge. Security told them they had to go, but Collidge graciously invited them to join him.

Up until her death in 1987, he and his mother Beatha took turns working and caring for the Spring Ranch. His enjoyment of the Custer County Fair in Hermosa, when he would exhibit his Hereford cow/calf herd, and the auction, where he would sell them. He looked forward to spring every year so he could tend to his cattle and observe the newborn calves. He often went out with his family, friends, and neighbors in search of deer and elk, and they all return with stories of his infectious enthusiasm for the sport. He was similarly pleased with a deer he had shot and subsequently mounted as a trophy.

Kathryn Spring of Union Center, SD, his sister-in-law; and his nieces and nephews, Charles (Claireen) Spring, Shirley (Gary) Baker, Glen Spring, Susan (Norman) Delbridge, and Janice (Paul) Nelsen, all of Faribault, Minnesota; Harry (Joan) Hoover, of Sandy, Utah; Ruth Cook, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Mary (Roger) Hendrick, of Opp, Alabama; Rebecca (Stephen Frank and Beatha Spring, Carol and Don Hoover, Theodore “Ted” Spring, Hazel (Frank) Jensen, Robbin Spring, and David Cook were among his ancestors who had already passed on by the time he was born.

Visitation will be held at Kinkade Funeral Chapel from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 9, 2023. Services will be held at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Hermosa, South Dakota, at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, July 10, 2023. Burial will take place at the Highland Park Cemetery in Hermosa, South Dakota. The Blind Foundation Memorial Fund at Highland Park Cemetery has been endowed.