Duane Wenzlaff

Duane Wenzlaff, age 79, of Yankton, South Dakota, died peacefully at his home on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM on Monday, November 6, 2023, at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Yankton, South Dakota, with Reverend Thi Pham officiating.  Burial will be at a later date in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Yankton, South Dakota.  Visitation will be from 3:00 to 5:00 PM on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton, South Dakota with a vigil service and rosary at 5:00 PM.

Pallbearers are Duane’s grandsons: Jacob Wenzlaff, Brady Wenzlaff, Tanner Coleman, Gabe Wenzlaff, Jared Coleman, Kade Schramm, and Dylan Steil.  Honorary pallbearers will be Duane’s granddaughters:  Kara Thomas, Amanda Swanstrom, Jennifer Teichroew, Ashley Wenzlaff, Samantha Wenzlaff, and Nora Schramm. 

Duane Wenzlaff was born February 1, 1944, in Yankton, South Dakota, to Joe and Gladys (Jensen) Wenzlaff.  He was the youngest of three boys and lived on a farm near Marindahl Lake near Yankton until 1952 when his family moved into Yankton.  He attended school in Yankton and married Donna Bruening on October 21, 1963, at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Menominee, Nebraska.  He worked for his brother, Verlin at the Conoco gas station on Broadway before finding his true calling as a maintenance man for Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in 1968.  He worked for over 42 years at the hospital and took great pride in knowing every nook and detail of the hospital.  His health forced him to retire in 2011.

Duane was a gentle, kind, Catholic man, who had a dry sense of humor and loved to visit.  He was a jack of all trades who had a very mechanical mind and could fix anything.  He enjoyed stock-car races, watching NASCAR, working on cars and even did a little racing himself.  He passed the love of racing to his sons and loved watching his sons race and was even able to watch his grandson race.  His favorite hobby however, was boating and skiing with his family and fishing with his boys or anyone who would get in the boat.  In his retirement he loved camping in their motorhome all over the United States from Canada to the Mexico border.  He had a strong faith in the Lord and will be greatly missed.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Donna Wenzlaff of Yankton, South Dakota; four children: Mark (Cheryl) Wenzlaff of Custer, South Dakota; Paul Wenzlaff of Yankton; Janeane Coleman (Bryon Batchelder) of Omaha, Nebraska; and Amy (Jeremy) Schramm of Yankton; 13 grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; great grandson, Tripp Teichroew; two brothers: Verlin and Glandow and in-laws, Ed and Kathleen Bruening.