Jerry King

Broadcast Date:

Jerry King, 73, of Hillsboro, N.D. ,and formerly of Faulkton, S.D., passed away peacefully on Monday, December 8, 2025, at his home.

Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Saturday, December 20, 2025, at the Hyde County Memorial Auditorium in Highmore. Lunch will follow. Burial will be in the spring at Memory Garden Cemetery in Valley City, North Dakota. Visitation will begin at 6:00 p.m., Friday, December 19, 2025, followed by a 7:00 p.m. wake service, all at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Stephan.

A memorial service and gathering will be held at a later date in Fargo, ND.

Jerry was born on December 11, 1951, in Miller, SD, to James and Eleanor (Knight) King, the fourth of 6 children. They lived on a ranch south of Highmore and later moved to Stephan Mission, where he attended Catholic grade school.  In the early 1960’s his parents bought Mac’s Corner, and the family made their home in the back of the store. After attending 6th – 8th grades at Stephan Country School, he went to Highmore High School, lettering in football, basketball, and track, graduating in 1969.

“Rope” to his friends, Jerry married his high school sweetheart, Beverly Hamlin, while attending Black Hills State.  After graduating in 1973, they moved with their young family to a ranch west of Mac’s Corner. Jerry ranched with his father and his sons, raising cattle and sheep.  In 1977, he started King Ag Supply, building Stormor grain bins.

In 1986, Jerry began a career with the Farm Service Agency, the second of several area ranchers to do so. He was assigned as the County Executive Director in Faulkton, moving his family there in 1987.  In 2001, he retired from the FSA and began working with Beverly at King Insurance Agency.  While in Faulkton, he was a member of the Faulkton Flying Club, Knights of Columbus, and the Faulkton Fire Department.

In later years, Jerry moved to Shelly, MN, and began a career as a Crop Adjuster with RCIS, retiring in 2024. He married Jamie Marler in 2015, and they made their home in Hillsboro, ND, where he was a steadfast Jackrabbit fan in a sea of Green and Yellow.

Jerry was a true South Dakota cowboy, raised in rough country on the Crow Creek Reservation.  He loved teasing everyone, especially his nieces and nephews. He loved to pull pranks; you learned not to borrow his pen…

Jerry was active with SDASCOE, serving as an officer at the state and national levels.   Jamie and Jerry traveled all over the country to NASCOE meetings, making many friends wherever they went.  He was his sons’ and grandchildren’s biggest fan in sports, working on houses and cars, and supporting them in their careers.  He enjoyed every moment spent with his grandchildren and great-granddaughters.  A natural historian, he could give a family history of almost every ranch in the Stephan area.  He never missed a family reunion, cherishing his many aunts, uncles, and cousins.  He was a huge fan of Jackrabbits football.   Living in a house divided by football loyalties, he stayed true to the Jacks, traveling to many of their games in Brookings.

We are all thankful for the plenty cool memories, the time spent together, the true love he felt for his family and friends.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Jamie, Hillsboro ND; sons: Kevin (Lisa) of Brookings; Dan of Harrisburg; Brian (Alisha) of Madison; and Scott (Casie) of Volga; thirteen grandchildren: Perry King; Sky, Storm, River and Ryder King; Blake, Alexis, Chase, Lindsey, and Tucker King; Kalista, Kiana, and Kalia King; great granddaughters: Ellanora and Ruth-Anne King; brother, Bill (Julie); sisters: Judy Runestad, Marie (Greg) Arendt, and Marile (Gary) Straight; mother-in-law, Betty Marler; brothers and sisters-in-law: Kelly Marler, Robin (Mark) Calkins, and Kathy (Craig) Engle; along with many cherished nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Preceded in death by his parents; father-in-law, Allen Marler; sister, Bernice Ellsworth; brothers-in-law, Bob Ellsworth, and Jay Runestad; sister-in-law, Tammy Marler; niece and nephews, William King, Teddy King, and Tim Ellsworth; and great niece, Shantel Anderson.

Luze Funeral Home of Highmore has been entrusted with Jerry’s arrangements.