Louella Brave Heart

Louella Brave Heart, 74, of Rapid City, formerly of Eagle Butte, passed away Thursday, June 16, 2016 at Rapid City Hospice House.

Funeral services were held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Eagle Butte with Mother Margaret Watson presiding. Burial followed in St. Peter’s Episcopal Cemetery, Thunder Butte. Wake services began at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 21, at the church, with a procession at 5:00 p.m. from the 4-mile.

Louella Marie (Slides Off) Brave Heart was born August 3, 1941, to Owen and Elsie (Clown) Slides Off at the Old Cheyenne Agency. Marie lived in Thunder Butte community for most of her life.   She attended school at the Thunder Butte Day School, the Old Agency Boarding School, and St. Mary's Episcopal Church School.  

Louella got her GED and went on to work in Denver, CO as a childcare provider.   She moved back to Thunder Butte and worked for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.   She had two daughters, Sherlynn Lee Herrera and Murphy Dionne Herrera. In 1973 she moved to San Diego, CA; where she earned her degree and became a legal secretary.   After a year and a half she moved back home, and then she took a job in Denver, CO as a bookkeeper.   Louella and her daughters moved back in 1976, and she worked for the Tribe’s cattle rehab program. She retired in 1980.

She married Christopher Brave Heart, Sr. in March of 1989. They lived in Thunder Butte, SD for many years,   and then they moved to the Eagle Butte Manor. During their time in Thunder Butte, Marie helped care for her grandchildren. She also loved to play bingo and listen to gospel and country music. As a young girl, she had played the organ. She always attended all of her grandchildren’s school and extracurricular activities. She liked to travel, cut diamonds for star quilts, attend powwow's, visit with friends and family, and she loved to garden with her husband, Chris, in Thunder Butte. Louella has recently resided in Prairie Hills Golden Living Center where she made many friends with the patients and staff.

Louella is survived by her loving husband, Christopher Brave Heart, Sr.; daughters, Sherlynn and Murphy Herrera; stepson, Larry Brave Heart; grandchildren: Erika (Sam) Prairie Chicken, Misty DeHorse, Corey DeHorse, Jacie DeHorse, Tahnee Herrera, Brandee Herrera (Wade Bad Warrior), Taliyah Jamisen and Taten Jamisen; 12 great grandchildren; two sisters, Adrienne Bruguier and Ione (Paul) Betone; and one brother, Jack Slides Off.

She is preceded in death by her mother and father, Owen and Elsie Slides Off; brothers: Sidney, Donald, Herman, and Milford Slides Off; sisters, Delma Slides Off and Julie Skinner; and one grandson, Jake Daniel DeHorse.

Luce Funeral Chapel of Eagle Butte has been entrusted with Louella’s arrangements.