Blanche L. Krell, age 104, previously of Mitchell, SD died on November 10, 2021 at SLV Health in Alamosa Colorado where she was undergoing treatment for COVID-19. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 AM Thursday, November 18, 2021 at Holy Family Catholic Church with visitation beginning one hour prior.  Burial will be in the American Legion Cemetery.

Blanche was a long-time resident of Mitchell, but had moved to Colorado in February of 2018 after her husband Sylvester died so that she would be close to her daughter.  Before hospitalization she had lived almost four years at the Legacy Assisted Living Facility in Monte Vista, Colorado.  Although reluctant to leave Mitchell and her very good friends here, she did make new friends in Colorado and enjoyed the assisted living arrangement, where she was the oldest resident, the matriarch, the good example for the other younger residents, and the first and only one named Blanche!

Blanche was born in Ft. Pierre, SD on December 2 ^nd , 1916 to Winnafred and William Frost of Ft. Pierre.  She completed her grade school years in Ft. Pierre and graduated from Ft. Pierre High School in 1934.  She was valedictorian of her high school senior class.  After graduation she worked at various jobs around Ft. Pierre, and later moved to Mitchell and attended Mitchell Business School.  She started work at Rozum Motor Company in 1939, where she met her future husband, Sylvester (Red) Krell.  Blanche moved to Waterloo, Iowa in 1942 when Sylvester enlisted in the Army during World War II.  She returned to South Dakota in 1945 when the war was ending, and they married on December 18, 1945.  They had three children, David, Judith, and Barbara.  They lived in Mitchell where Blanche took care of the family and home and Red resumed working at Rozum's.  Blanche was involved in the Holy Family Catholic Church and was also very active in the Altar Society, serving as Division Leader.  She periodically worked at the Holy Family Grade School, where she was placed in charge of the school library for several years, helping to build it up again.  She also assisted the first-grade teachers and helped with reading lessons for the fourth graders while continuing her work in the library.   In her later years she volunteered and read to second graders weekly, stopping this only in her mid-90s.

Blanche was preceded in death by her husband and her son David. She is survived by daughter Judy (Tom) Kuske, daughter Barb Krell, grandchildren Ron (Candace) Kuske, Dan (Chrissy) Kuske, Christine (Adam) Soderborg, and great-grandchildren Atticus Soderborg and Quinn Kuske.  Also surviving Blanche are special niece Nancy Jones and special nephews Steve (Sandy) and Bruce (Janice) Jones, the first children of her older sister Grace, with whom she lived in Waterloo, IA before her marriage.  Many other beloved nieces and nephews and their spouses and children also survive Blanche.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the the Legacy Assisted Living Facility of Monte Vista, Colorado, which can be sent in memory of Blanche directly to the facility, 100 Chico Camino, Monte Vista, Colorado 81144.