Isabel Elaine Buum was born on November 21,1936 to parents Gottlieb and Myrtle (Ronning) Buum, at the rural Nora, SD home of her grandparents. She passed away on September 15, 2020 at Bethesda of Beresford after contracting Covid 19.

Isabel grew up on a farm near Nora. She attended elementary school at Nora country school and went on to high school in Alcester, SD, graduating in 1954. She was raised in the Lutheran church and was a devoted follower of the Christian faith all of her life. She was baptized and confirmed at Roseni Lutheran Church, and on June 9, 1956 she was also married there to Chalmer Onnen of Akron, IA.  After the wedding she began her life as an Air Force wife in Kansas City MO. Over the next 25 years Isabel made a home for her family in Texas, Kansas, North Dakota, Iowa, Arizona and finally back to Alcester, South Dakota.

Isabel had a way of finding joy in life, and was passionate about many things. Her greatest love was her family and she was very generous in showing her love for each one of them. Her infectious personality gained her many friends during her life, and she was able to make every one of them feel special and loved. Isabel also had a passion for music, and she generously shared her musical talents.  Her love of music came from her parents, and she and her sister Twila started singing together at a very early age. Her singing continued as a soloist, and as a member of many school, church and community choirs. She was very proud to be part of the local gospel quartet known as the The Good News Four which included her brother Owen & Adele Buum and Roger (Sparky) Anderson. S he shared her love music with her siblings, passed it to her children and grandchildren, and delighted in singing and playing instruments with all of them. The Buum family rarely spent time together without singing, accompanied by our very own "family band".  A precious memory the whole family shares is our annual Christmas rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas, with Isabel singing joyfully her part of "5 gold rings". During her childhood, she also learned to play the piano, the organ and the accordion and put those skills to good use.  Isabel was a church organist for an impressive 60+ years, playing in every church she was a member of.  She played organ and piano at countless weddings, funerals, community events, and was an accompanist for numerous vocal and instrumental groups as well as countless soloists. There were many piano duets and piano-organ duets played with her sister Carla, and she enjoyed making trips to Minnesota to listen to her brother Martin sing is his barber shop quartet.

She will be remembered for many of her other passions including her proud Norwegian heritage, and her talents of cooking and baking Norwegian food. She was known for her lefse and krumkake and most fondly for her bread, the requested Christmas gift of her grandchildren. She had several jobs throughout her life, but her most fulfilling were teacher's aide, medical receptionist, and a short stint at the local news paper, the Alcester Union, where she also wrote a weekly news article, "Over the Coffee Cup" and where she was given her nickname "Scoop" by her good friend Ron. Isabel was a wonderful seamstress and it is not possible to know how many things she made for herself, her friends and her family. She also enjoyed crafting, with scrapbooking being one of her favorites. She used this talent, along with her amazing knowledge of family history and hundreds of photographs she collected, to make beautiful records of the family genealogy.

Isabel, and her wonderful laugh, will be missed by all who were lucky to know and love her. She leaves behind her daughter Wanda (Kurt) Keil, her son Matthew and her daughter-in-law Barbara Onnen (Jerome).  Her sister Twila Herzog, her brother Martin (Karen) Buum, her sister Carla (Dave) Limoges and her sister-in-law Adele Buum. Her grandchildren Jesse (Lindsay) Taylor, Eric (Danielle) Taylor, Kiley (Dustin) Van Horn, Sami (Cory) Zelfel, Jacob (Callie) Keil, Joshua Onnen, Christopher (Jen) Onnen, Jamie Onnen, Kyle (Tiffany) Vanhove, Alec (Shelby) Vanhove, Cassie Onnen (fiancé Zachary Venenga), along with16 great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and very special friends Joanne Hatton,  Becky Treiber and Sandra Inberg. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sons Duane and Jerome, her brother Owen Buum, her nephew Paul Buum and her daughter-in-law Sandra Onnen (Matthew).

Funeral Service and a Celebration of Life arrangements are pending. Please direct memorials to the Alzheimer's Association or Bethesda of Beresford in Isabel's honor.