Adella Florence (Frank) Kayser, 98, passed away Thursday, April 14, 2022 at Avera-Maryhouse in Pierre with family by her side. Funeral Services were held at 1:00pm, Friday, April 22, 2022 at First United Methodist Church in Pierre. A recording of Adella’s service is available to be viewed at http://www.feigumfh.com.
Adella was born in Lesterville, SD, on April 3, 1924, to Philip and Christine (Mutschelknaus) Frank and grew up on a farm southeast of Scotland, SD, with her parents and younger sister, Lorraine. Adella went to grade school in the country and when she started school at the age of six, she mostly spoke German and had to learn the English language.
When she was 15, she moved into Scotland to live with a family and be a nanny to their small son for her room and board until 1942 when she graduated from high school. Shortly after she moved to town, a friend from school introduced her to a tall, blonde, handsome young man from Pierre who was her friend’s cousin. His name was Raymond Kayser and Adella was “smitten”!
Throughout the next three years, they exchanged letters back and forth and during that time, they were only able to see each other six times until in November 1942 they were married by the Justice of the Peace.
Their life together lasted for almost 64 years at Pierre where they raised four daughters: Sharon, Pam, Jan and Lonna. Adella loved to sew for her daughters and made a lot of their clothes when they were small. As the girls got older, she started making quilts from the scraps of her sewing endeavors and by the time she decided “no more” she had made over 1100 bed quilts, lap quilts and crocheted many afghans.
She enjoyed time outdoors keeping the yard looking beautiful and was always planting flowers, bushes and trees during the spring and summer until she ran out of room and Ray said “that’s enough”! As a true farm wife she was a great cook and was always baking and cooking three meals a day and enjoyed doing it for her family and whoever happened to show up at meal time.
Throughout their young married life, Adella and Ray enjoyed going out on a Saturday night with family and friends and loved to dance the night away at either the Izaak Walton or the Elks Club. As a couple on the dance floor, they were beautiful to watch! In 2003 they moved into Pierre and lived in an apartment at Parkwood Senior Living. Ray passed away in 2006 and Adella continued to live at Parkwood until November 2017 when she became a resident at Maryhouse.
In her late years, her mind might not have been the best, but she was a very social and well-liked woman. She would always dress “to the nines” and made sure she had her jewelry and make-up on every day. Her family will always have many wonderful memories of Adella to cherish and will forever remember that she was a wonderful mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother that loved them all greatly until her last breath.
Adella is survived by her daughters; Pam (Larrie) Hunsley of Pierre; Jan (Jeff) Benson, Garretson, SD; Lonna Carroll, Fort Pierre and son-in-law David Johnson; grandchildren: Scott Johnson, Todd (Terri) Johnson and Britt (Shawn) Williams, all of Pierre; Amy (Derek) McTighe of Sioux Falls, SD; Jase (Jamie) Benson and Jade Benson of Garretson, SD; Jaime (Tom) Huebner of Dell Rapids, SD; Leslee Carroll of Sioux Falls, SD and Jay (Dana) Carroll of Algona, Iowa; 23 great grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter, along with numerous beloved nieces and nephews and extended family members. Adella was preceded in death by her husband Ray, a daughter Sharon Johnson, her sister Lorraine, her parents and an infant baby brother, Bobby; four brothers-in-law and three sisters-in-law.
Condolences may be conveyed to the family at http://www.feigumfh.com
