Ralph Anton. Kroupa, age 77, of Mt. Vernon, died February 11, 2005 at the Firesteel Healthcare Center. Funeral services will be at 2:00 PM Wednesday at the Salem Lutheran Church in Mt. Vernon. Visitation will be from 6-8 PM Tuesday at the Will Funeral Chapel. Burial will be in the Mt. Vernon Cemetery with full military rites. He was born August 6, 1927, at Kimball, SD to Anton and Mae (McKee) Kroupa. He attended country schools near Kimball, SD and later in White Lake, SD. At an early age he moved to Washington and worked on a dairy farm until moving back to Mt. Vernon to help on the family farm. He entered the US Army on November 17, 1950, and served during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged on November 16, 1952 and returned to the family farm. Ralph married Delores Schatz on July 26, 1953 at Plankinton. The couple farmed near Mt. Vernon. Along with farming he also worked in a lumberyard, did welding, drove truck and served 19 years as a Rural Mail Carrier for the US Postal Service. He was a member of the Mt. Vernon American Legion, the Moose Lodge of Mitchell, and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association. He and his wife wintered in Arizona for 18 years. He is survived by his wife, Delores of Mt. Vernon; his children: Vickie Sigmund and husband, Ed Lee; and Dale Kroupa, all of Mt. Vernon, Elaine Duvall and her husband Jay, Mitchell; his mother-in-law, Florence Schatz, Mitchell; two brothers Roy Henrickson, Gresham, Oregon; Frank Kroupa, Tacoma, Washington; sisters: Irene Shelton and husband Clarence, Florence, Oregon; Florence Hawn, Rapid City; and Vera Hill, Plankinton; four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, Michelle (Sigmund) Klumb and husband, Shannon and their children: Kendra, Kaden and Kody, Ethan, SD, Brandon Sigmund and his wife, Melissa and their children: Phoenix and Madison, Mitchell, SD, Teresa Shay and friend Justin and her children: Tanner and Jazzmine, Mitchell, SD, and Tyler Shay and friend Keli, Lennox, SD. He was preceded in death by his parents, infant brother, Marvin; two brothers-in-law, Douglas Hawn and Berdean Hill, and three sisters-in-law, Dixie Kroupa, Violet Henrickson and Jewel Henrickson.