Gertrude Louise Fink was born August 7, 1937 in Douglas County near Armour, SD to parents Emil and Gertrude (Grosz) Fink and died on February 4, 2022 at the age of 84 years.

Gertrude was baptized on August 29, 1937 at St. Peter Lutheran Church in rural Armour, SD. She was also confirmed there.

Gertrude attended Valley Township Grade School northeast of Armour and graduated from Armour High School in 1955. She attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. In 1956, she moved to Sioux Falls, SD where for three years she worked as a secretary in the legal office at the Veterans Administration Regional Office.

On October 11, 1958, Gertrude married Verlyn Lapour at St. Peter Lutheran Church. She moved with her husband to their farm northwest of Alcester where they lived until they retired and moved to Alcester in 1996.

Gertrude was a member of Nathanael Lutheran Church in Alcester, SD. She taught Sunday School and was Sunday School Superintendent for several years. She was active in the women's organization and played the organ for 27 years.

Gertrude was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Verlyn and her brother Marvin. Among those who survive and gratefully shared her life are her children Kay (Jon) Coker and their children Drew, Brendan and Dara; Kelli Cotter and her children Tom, Keith and Patrick; and Keith Lapour and his children Miranda, Cash and Jackson. She is also survived by her siblings Herman, Karl, Clara, Ewald and Ervin, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be 2PM Saturday, February 19, 2022 at Nathanael Lutheran Church, 209 Dakota Street, Alcester, SD 57001; it will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtV4CYJ4Tjty6JDdyc0uECw. Burial will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Alcester. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts be given to the Nathanael Lutheran Church General Fund.