Bernard “Bernie” Crist, age 83, of Huron, passed away Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the Huron Regional Medical Center.

His memorial service was held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, July 11, at the Huron Church of the Open Bible.

Visitation with the family present was held one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.

Memorials may be directed to the Huron Church of the Open Bible.

Bernard W. Crist was born December 29, 1942, to Vernon and Venella (Corbin) Crist at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Later, the family moved to Wessington Springs, South Dakota. While in high school, Bernie loved playing football, basketball and baseball. He graduated from Wessington Springs High School in 1961. Bernie continued his baseball career by playing for the Wessington Springs Owls and later managed the team for a time.

Bernie served in the South Dakota National Guard for five years and was honorably discharged.

On February 16, 1963, Bernie married Vivian Hershey at Mitchell, South Dakota. Bernie and family moved to Seattle, Washington, where he was a fiberglass foreman at Boeing Company. They returned to Wessington Springs so Bernie could help his father on the family farms. Bernie and Vivian and their daughters moved from Wessington Springs to Huron in 1979, as Bernie owned Crist Construction Company and there was a high demand for construction crews in Huron at the time. Bernie continued his entrepreneurship by owning and operating Crist Locksmithing for several decades in the Huron area. Due to health conditions, he was forced to retire.

He was strong in his faith and his commitment to God. He was an active member of the Huron Church of the Open Bible. He served as an Elder, head usher and played on the church’s softball team.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his grandfather, Wes Crist; his aunt, Veda Crist; one son, Brian Crist; one brother, Bill Crist; his father- and mother-in-law, Vail and Shirley Hershey; and two brothers-in-law, Darrel Hershey and Darryl Albright.

Grateful for having shared in his life are his wife, Vivian of Huron; three daughters, Jolene (Cliff) Crist of Sioux Falls, Shelly (Richard) Regimbal of Sioux Falls and Valerie Woehler of Kansas City, Kansas; six grand-children; five great-grandchildren; two sisters, Carolyn (Ken) McClain and June (Tim) Reilly, all of Rapid City; three sisters-in-law, Diana Gregory, Vae Lyn Hershey and Judy Crist; and nieces, nephews and cousins.