Jerome K. Mandel, age 81, of Watertown and formerly of Huron, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family, Saturday, December 31, 2022, at Prairie Lakes Hospital at Watertown. The family is deeply saddened by his death.

His funeral service was held at 10:30 AM, Friday, January 6th at the Emmanuel Mennonite Church, rural Doland. Burial was in the church cemetery. His service was live-streamed through our website.

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Visitation was held from 4:00 to 7:00 PM, Thursday at the Kuhler Funeral Home, with a time of sharing at 6:30 PM Thursday evening.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to James Valley Christian School or Emmanuel Mennonite Church.

Jerome Kenneth Mandel was born September 21, 1941, at Watertown, South Dakota. He moved to a farm south of Doland in 1944.

Jerome attended country school south of Doland, first through eighth grade. He attended Doland High School ninth through eleventh grade. Jerome completed his senior year of high school at James Valley Christian School, graduating in 1959.

On September 3, 1961, Jerome married Nyla Miller at the United Methodist Church at Bristol, South Dakota. Jerome and Nyla went on to have three children, Lonnie, Vivian and Rick. Some of his greatest joys came from spending time with his family creating many memories. In 1979, the family moved to rural Huron. Jerome and Nyla lived there until moving to Watertown in 2020.

Jerome was self-employed in road construction and custom harvesting for many years. He then drove truck for Asphalt Paving in Huron, until his health forced him to retire in 2020.

In his free time, Jerome enjoyed watching basketball, coffee time, visiting and spending time with family. He accepted Jesus as his Savior at a young age and re-dedicated his life to Christ at a Bill Glass Crusade. Jerome did everything with honesty and integrity. He had strong values and a deep faith in God. His legacy will carry on forever reminding us that we control our attitudes. We choose to live a life of meaningful acts of love and service, like Christ modeled for us.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Jake and Ida Mandel; both sets of his grandparents; numerous aunts and uncles; and his parents-in-law, Henry and Evelyn Miller.

Jerome is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Nyla and his children, Lonnie (Dala) Mandel, Rick (Amy Steele) Mandel, all of Watertown and Vivian (Adam) Mulder of Lakeville, Minnesota.

He will be forever cherished and remembered by his six grandchildren, Jered Mandel, Jake Mandel, Jasmine (Nathan) Odegard, Jessica (Taylor) Eliason, Connor LeClair and Abby Meyer; two step-grandchildren, Logan Mulder and Grace Mulder; eight great-grandchildren; two brothers and their families, Norman and Arla Mandel and Darwin and Aileen Mandel, all of Huron; and one sister-in-law and her family, Marlys and John Denholm of Milbank. His memory will live on with his numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

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