Jerrell Pickett

Dec. 19, 1942-Sept. 25, 2006

WESSINGTON, S.D. -- Jerrell Pickett, 63, of rural Wessington, SD, died Monday (Sept. 25, 2006), at the Prairie Good Samaritan Center at Miller, S.D.  

He was born Dec. 19, 1942, to Forrest and Lillian (Ladd) Pickett at Zalma, Mo. At the age of 3, he moved with his parents to Nebraska. He attended school at Indianola, and graduated from high school in 1961. After graduation he was employed on oil rigs.

On Feb. 25, 1962, he married Thelma Blume at Indianola.

On April 25, 1962, he entered the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam as a Morse Code operator. He was honorably discharged on March 6, 1964.

They moved to Wolsey, S.D., in 1971, and to Wessington in 1974. He worked for a feed company for a number of years and then sold real estate for a number of years.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Wessington, lifetime member of the Watson-Krauter American Legion Post No. 110 of Wessington, and the Wessington Masonic Lodge NO. 107 AF & AM.

In 1993, Jerrell started the A.S.A. (Army Security Agency) Vietnam Veterans Reunion on a local level, and over the years it expanded nationwide into many state annual reunions.

He was preceded in death by his father, Forrest; an infant daughter, Tammy; and one sister, Lylis Emrich.

Survivors include his wife, Thelma of Wessington; three children, Shane Pickett of Miami, Okla., Winona Denke of St. Lawrence, S.D., and Logan Pickett of Huron, S.D.; his mother, Lillian and husband, Ervin Schaffert of Indianola; one sister, Wendell and husband, James Reiners of Indianola; and three grandchildren.

The memorial service will be Wednesday, 2 p.m., at the Welter Funeral Home at Huron, S.D., with the Rev. Allen Sager officiating, Masonic Rites by the Wessington Masonic Lodge No. 107 AF & AM, and Military Rites by the Watson-Krauter American Legion Post No. 110 of Wessington. Burial of his cremated remains will be held at a later date.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Welter Funeral Home.