Dena Davis, 100, of Parker, S.D., passed away Tuesday, Jan. 21 at Sanford Ava’s House in Sioux Falls. A funeral service will be Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Bethesda Church with visitation beginning one hour before service time.
Dena (Van Gelder) Davis born Nov. 30, 1924, on a farm near Hawarden, Iowa. She was the third child to be born to John and Fannie Van Gelder. After a flood, the family moved to a farm near Parker in 1928 where three additional boys joined the family making four boys and three girls. Her father passed away at the age of 45, which caused Dena and her older siblings to begin work at an early age. Dena was 12 years old when her father died but was able to continue her education in Monroe, S.D., until the ninth grade, after which she had to work to help earn money to provide for the family. She worked several jobs for people in the Monroe and Canistota, S.D., areas ranging from doing chores, housework, milking, hauling manure, staying in homes for a week at a time. It was in Sunday school that she met Marlin Davis. On Feb. 23, 1945, they were married in Marlin’s parent’s home where they continued to live and assist with the farming. Dena recounted fishing in the river, assisting with farming, raising cattle, gardening and sewing. Three boys were born to this union — Glenn, Donald and Paul.
Dena’s faith in God began in her childhood years and she was later baptized with her husband Marlin at Spring Valley Baptist Church of rural Monroe. She assisted with teaching Vacation Bible School and children’s Sunday school classes almost every year from 1945 until 2003 when the church they attended at the time closed (Silver Lake Mennonite Brethren Church, rural Freeman, S.D. It was important to Dena that children had the opportunity to learn about Christ and come to know Jesus as their Savior. Dena enjoyed volunteering at the MCC Meat canning and the Turner County Food Pantry as well as attending neighborhood auctions…