Gayle Faulstich

Gayle E. Faulstich, 84, of Highmore, finished her earthly visit on Saturday, October 1, 2022, at the Highmore Health in Highmore, SD.

Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 8, 2022, at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Highmore, with Rev. David Peterson officiating.  Burial will follow at the Highmore City Cemetery.  Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Friday, October 7, 2022, followed by a 7:00 p.m. prayer service, all at Our Savior Lutheran Church, Highmore.

Her family and friends miss her dearly.  May she rest in well-earned, everlasting peace.  Memorials may be directed to Hyde County Parks and Recreation (www.hydecpr.org) designated for the Highmore swimming pool replacement project.

Gayle was born in Great Falls, MT on July 23, 1938, the eldest child of Laurence and Lois (Brooks) Ledgerwood.  The family moved from there to a one-bedroom house with no electricity or running water outside of Fort Benton, MT to take over her grandparents' farm.  She attended rural Elim School for three years before the family moved into town to a house her father had built and where she started fourth grade.  She played clarinet and bass clarinet in the band at Fort Benton High School and graduated in 1956.  She attended Northern State in Havre, MT for two years to get her teaching certificate before teaching fourth grade in Conrad, MT and then Great Falls.  Gayle bought her first car, a Triumph TR-3, in 1960.  She caught the eye of a young pilot, Don Faulstich, stationed at Great Falls with the Air Force.  They enjoyed snow skiing, eating out, and movies in their early years together.

Gayle and Don were married on February 2, 1964, in Great Falls, and moved to Highmore, SD to farm and raise livestock.  She sadly parted ways with her TR-3 as it did not fit into family life on a farm.  They built and moved into a “basement home” before finishing “the top” six years later.  Teaching jobs and daughters came along to fill her days.  And she farmed...greatly assisting Don by carrying lunches to the field, hauling grain from combines to bins, and fulfilling the ever-critical job of chief “go fer.”  She was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She loved her arts and crafts, including sewing clothes for her daughters and their Barbie dolls, oil painting nature scenes, photography, and baking. To this day, her children and grandchildren shy away from store-bought cookies, pies, and cinnamon rolls, all spoiled by Gayle's kitchen magic.

Gayle could talk to anyone, and did, befriending almost everyone she met.  She enjoyed a good laugh and wasn't shy about pulling a prank from time to time.  She made many family trips back home to Fort Benton, especially for the town’s annual Summer Celebration.  Don never forgot he owed her a replacement TR-3, and for her 70th birthday he gave her a nearly identical TR-3. Gayle was back in the driver's seat with the wind in her hair, and she didn't care if it made no sense on a farm.  She enjoyed taking that and a 1946 Chevy pick-up from the farm in MT to the Highmore Old Settlers' Day car show.

She will be missed by her husband of 58 years, Don Faulstich; daughters: Pam Clapp (Todd) of Brandon, MS; Char Faulstich (Brad Heinemann) of Dell Rapids, SD; Cindy Bennett (Ed) of Hopkins, MN; and Cathy Hennies (Mark) of Rapid City, SD; grandchildren: Isaac and Olivia Clapp; Sydney Eichinger; Alice, Harriet, and Stella Bennett; and Cole Hennies; siblings: Glenn Ledgerwood (Nancy), Jan Prokopenko (Yuri), and Don Ledgerwood (Kathy); and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents: Laurence and Lois (Brooks) Ledgerwood and by her infant sister Phyllis Fay of Fort Benton, MT.

Luze Funeral Home of Highmore has been entrusted with Gayle's arrangements.