Fern V. Schaefer

YANKTON, S.D. — Fern V. Schaefer, 83, Yankton, S.D., died Jan. 23, 2019, at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital, Yankton, S.D.  

Mass of Christian Burial was Jan. 28 at St. Benedict Catholic Church, Yankton, with Rev. Scott Traynor officiating.  

Burial was in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery, St. Helena.  Visitation, with a rosary and scripture service, was Sunday at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Onsite Crematory, Yankton, and resumed one hour prior to the service at the church.   

Pallbearers were Michael Schaefer, Anthony Schaefer, Josh Goeken, Tyler Goeken, Jacob Lammers and Weston Heine.

Fern was born Feb. 18, 1935, to Gerhard and Louise (Hendricks) Buschkamp. She grew up on the family farm near Bloomfield.  She attended school in Bloomfield, for 12 years, where she earned her teaching degree. She taught school for one year. She married Ralph Schaefer Nov. 18, 1953, in Bloomfield. They lived on a farm west of St. Helena until they moved to outside Yankton in 1992.

Fern was a member of the St. Benedict’s Catholic Church, Yankton. Ralph and Fern loved to play cards and visit with family members. Fern worked at numerous places in Yankton: Gurney’s from 1971-1989; Broadway Inn, from 1989-1994; and the Days Inn, from 1994-2007, when she retired.

She loved visiting with people, and she is remembered for her quick wit and great sense of humor.

Fern is survived by five children and their spouses, Roxanne and William Walker, Spearfish, S.D.; Robert and Char Schaefer, Vermillion, S.D.; Dale and Joan Schaefer, Fordyce; Gary and Michelle Schaefer, Yankton, S.D.; Sandra Justra, Yankton, S.D.; 14 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Loraine Buschkamp and Helen Schaefer; and a brother-in-law, Gerald Bruck.

Fern was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph; her parents, four brothers and two sisters.