Ronald LaVerne Manning of Alcester, South Dakota passed away on December 25 ^th , 2022 at the age of 96.

Ron was born December 4, 1926 to John (Jack) and Doris Manning in Frankfort, South Dakota.  He was was called LaVerne, Bernie, Ronnie and Ron, and was the third born of eight children.

Ron attended a county school north of Frankfort through eighth grade and graduated from Frankfort High School on May 24, 1945.  He was drafted into the U.S. Army on May 28, 1945 and served the 1 ^st Infantry Division, European Command in Germany, until September 13, 1948 when he was honorably discharged.  Following his charge, he and his Army buddy toured the East Coast and Southern States.

In 1949, he enrolled in Huron College, Huron, SD, and graduated in 1953 with a BA Degree in Physical Education, Psychology and a minor in English.  When asked what he majored in, he would reply with a big grin, and say, "The five P's.  Physical Education, Psychology, Poker, Pinochle and Ping Pong."

Ron was an accomplished athlete at an early age.  When he was 12 years old, his dad gave him two pair of boxing gloves and by the time he was 14 years old, he had earned a reputation as a tough little boxer.  Also at the age, he began shooting free throws one handed in the hay loft of their barn, because he was convinced he was more accurate than even the professionals, who were shooting two handed at that time.  It worked well for him, and he carried an 89% free throw average in High School for the Frankfurt Falcons, and also for the Huron College Scalpers.

While attending Frankfurt High School, Ron was active in many activities and team sports.  Extracurricular activities included Band, Chorus Glee Club, Men's Quartet, Class Plays, and a member of the Falconite Staff for one year.  In sports, he played as a guard on the basketball team, shortstop on the baseball team, and participated on the track team for one year, as well.

In 1950, when he was a Sophomore at Huron College, he noticed two girls walking across campus toward the girl's dormitory.  He asked his cousin who the little blonde was.  His cousin told Ron that her name was Marion Hagen.  She is from Alcester and is one of the freshmen this year.  Ron said, "That's the girl I am going to marry!"  Two years later, after Marion had broken off her engagement to her High School sweetheart, and had a few dates with a couple of College Musicians, Ron and "Mimi" as he lovingly called her, were married.  August 16, 1952.  They were inseparable for 63 great years until Mimi passed away on March 29, 2016.

In 1956, Marion and Ron sold their household furniture, bought a new car with a large roof top carrier to hold a few things, and with another couple left Huron to move to California.

On August 17, 1957, their daughter, Paula Gay was born.  Five years later, they adopted their son, Michael John, who was born on December 1, 1962.

While living in California, Marion taught school and Ron worked in direct sales, was Assistant Manager of the Buena Park Chamber of Commerce, and Sales Manager for Trust Realty.  In 1968, the family moved back to the Midwest.  Temporary stop in Alcester for 9 months, but finally headed to Pipestone, MN.  Ron was the Chamber of Commerce Manager for four years and then was Executive Director of Community Development for five years.  In 1977, he was hired by the City of Rochester, MN, as the Administrator for a 97 acre Development District, and was responsible for coordinating all activities which involved the entire downtown area-including entities such as the Mayo Clinic, IBM and the Koehler Corporation.

In 1983, they took another adventure on, and purchased Food Broker Ltd, with owned two Mexican Fast Food Restaurants, DBA TACOS ETC.  One was in Grand Junction, CO and one was in Cheyenne, WY.  Marion and Ron operated the one in Colorado, While Paula and Mike operated the one in Wyoming.  In a few years, five more Tacos Etc were added to the small chain.  And, the entire family served tasty tacos, hot smothered burritos and delicious chimichangas for the next twenty years.

From the first day of their marriage, Ron and Marion lived and enjoyed an active and fulfilling lifestyle.  They did move a number of times, and each time they immediately would make new friends.  Ron was always looking for ways to improve the quality of life in each community that they lived in, and he quickly earned the reputation as a "mover and shaker".  This became evident again when they moved back to Marion's hometown of Alcester, SD in 2003, where they have resided since.

Within two weeks of his "retirement", Ron was hired to manage 44 units of apartments for Townhouse Apartments.  Within the same two weeks, he was asked to join the Alcester Lion's Club.  He became a very active member of this club earning the Proud Lion Award the 1 ^st year, and was elected President for the two years in succession.  During the ensuing years, and because of his 20 years in the restaurant industry, he convinced his fellow Lion members to renovate the existing Lions Den building located at the Union County Fairgrounds.  He wanted it to meet the minimum health code requirements.  This was accomplished in 2005, and Ron served as the Chairman of the annual activity and biggest fundraiser for the club for ten years.  He also was the Chairman of the Annual Pancake Feed for several of these years.  In 2017, Lions Club International awarded Ron the Melvin Jones Fellowship, which is the highest award given to a Lion member.

As Ron grew older, he did not read as much, but he did watch TV-which included his favorite sports teams.  He also enjoyed playing cards and board games with family and friends, and continued to play golf well into his 90s.  He loved to collect recipes and would spend lots of time in the kitchen trying them out.  He also enjoyed taking care of the lawn and the garden, and definitely did the crossword puzzle daily.  He loved his dogs, and spent a lot of time spoiling them completely.

Ron and Marion will be remembered for many reasons as they led a very active and full life.  They were kind and loving individuals with a special love for their family, their friends and their dogs.

Ron was preceded in death by both parents: his half-brother, Leslie; an infant brother, Jack Jr.; a brother Maylan; twin brothers Dale and Dean; and a sister, Laurel.  He is survived by his daughter, Paula, and her husband Richard Fagre; his son Michael; his grandchildren Paige Fagre Lawson (Colin Lawson) and Ryan Fagre (Evelin Prisco Fagre), great grandson Finnegan Lawson; great grandson Rylan Fagre; his sister Edna Meisel; his sister Julie Ormsby (Richard Ormsby); his in-laws Dale and Marilyn Hagen, Lowell and Kathie Hagen, Lily Hagen, Donna Hagen, Barbara and John Osborn; and many other cousins, nieces and nephews.

Thank you to everyone that was a part of one great life.  Blessings to you all.