Virginia K. Lardinois, age 96, of Huron, went home to be with her Lord on November 10, 2016, at the SunQuest Healthcare Center. Her funeral service was held Saturday, November 19th at 11am at the First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Mark Holland and Pastor Jim Ayers officiating. Burial is scheduled at the Black Hills National Cemetery, on Monday, November 21st at 10 am.
Virginia Kiel Lardinois was born in Monroe, Wisconsin on February 28, 1920, the daughter of the late Otto and Emma Kiel. Virginia graduated from Monroe High School in 1939. She married Clifford Lardinois, Sr. in 1942, residing in Madison, Wisconsin as he earned his Doctorate in Medicine. She then spent 20 years as an Army wife living through the United States and Japan. Prior to moving to Huron in 1965, she had been active in church, schools, scouting and volunteer hospital work assisting disabled military personnel.
Virginia served in numerous organizations during her fifty plus years in Huron. She was actively engaged with the YWCA, the Huron Symphony League, the United Methodist Church, the St. John Regional Medial Center Auxiliary, the South Dakota Hospital Auxiliary, The Republican Women of South Dakota, the Huron Senior Games, La Sertoma Club, Fortnightly Study Club, Eastern Star, and Risk and Resource. She initiated the first Huron Community Symphony Festivities and Balls, served on the first committee that organized the annual YWCA tour of homes, was responsible for the creation of Meadowood Fair, and was chosen to be chairman for the Huron Centennial Celebration in 1981. She was appointed to the Blue Ribbon Citizen Committee to study the structure and operation of the South Dakota court systems in 1985 and participated in the Senior Intern program in Washington, D.C. in 1996.
Citations and awards include the lifetime membership certificate from the Girl Scouts, state runner-up for the Outstanding Hospital Auxiliarien (1971), the Christian Service Award of the First United Methodist Church (1972), the YWCA Christian Leadership Award (1973), the Cecil Nankival Award to the South Dakota Outstanding Republican Woman (1976), the Huron Mother of the Year (1977), the Huron Daily Plainsman Freedom Award of Humanitarian (1988), The Jefferson Award from KELO-Land TV (1996), and The Spirit of Dakota Award Winner (2002).
Her husband, Dr. Clifford C. Lardinois, Sr., her brother Gerald Kiel of Chandler, Arizona, and her great granddaughter Tawnee Ayers preceded her in death.
She is survived by her two daughters and their husbands, Cynthia and Jim Ayers of Spotsylvania, Virginia, and Carolyn and Michael English of Burbank, California; and her two sons and their wives, Clifford C. Lardinois, Jr. and Pat of San Rafael, California, and Dr. Claude Kiel Lardinois and Linda of Reno, Nevada; six grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.
Farewell good and faithful servant, enter the rest of the Lord.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Huron Regional Medical Center Foundation or the First United Methodist Church Foundation, Huron.