Ethel and Roger Dover

Ethel Dover, 88, of Madison passed away Sunday, January 2, 2022, at Madison Regional Health System and her beloved husband of 69 years, Roger, passed away 18 days later on January 20th at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls.

Graveside services for Ethel & Roger will be held 2 PM on Saturday, May 7th at Graceland Cemetery. For those not able to be at the cemetery, the family invites you to go to Trinity Lutheran Church basement for a light luncheon and they will join you after the graveside service. Arrangements are with Rustand-Weiland Funeral Chapel. Online guestbook is at www.rustandweilandfuneral.com.

Roger was born August 17th, 1929, at Huron, SD to Odis and Ella (Fenner) Dover. The family farmed in the Huron/Iroquois area before moving to a farm in the Ramona/Madison area where Roger attended country school and later graduated from Ramona High School. Following high school Roger served in the United States Army following WWII and was recalled during the Korean Conflict.

Ethel Grace Dover was born June 29, 1933, to Herman and Maggie (Gray) Hansen on the family’s farm near Meckling, SD. Ethel grew up on the farm along the Missouri River and attended Lincoln Country School. Following school, she lived in Vermillion, SD and worked in a variety of cafes and for the telephone company. She attended the South Dakota Beauty Academy in Sioux Falls, SD and graduated as a licensed beautician in 1952. That same year she accepted her first job as a beautician at a salon in Madison, SD. While working in Madison she met her future husband Roger Dover and the two were married on December 6, 1952, at Meckling, SD.

Along with raising her family she established Ethel’s Beauty Salon in 1966 located as an addition to their home in Junius, SD. She later re-established Ethel’s Beauty Salon when they moved to Madison. Ethel spent close to 50 years operating her own beauty salon retiring at the age of 79. Roger established Dover Well Drilling and Repair in the late 1960s, a business he owned and operated for over 50 years, drilling and repairing wells in many area counties in eastern SD. In later years, he sold off the drilling portion of the business, but continued to do repair work until he was in his mid-80s.

Ethel had a great sense of humor, she was ambitious, kind-hearted and a progressive thinker; her strong work ethic enabled her to raise a large family and manage a successful business. Her children and grandchildren always looked forward to her famous peanut butter rice crispy bars that she always brought to family gatherings. Roger had a strong work ethic, good sense of humor and enjoyed reading, genealogy, American history and keeping up on currents events.

Roger & Ethel are survived by their children, Maylon (Barb) Dover of Sioux Falls, Jim (Angela) Dover of Lennox, Michael Dover of Sioux Falls and Scott (Sena) Dover of Sioux Falls; 

grandchildren, Amanda (Ryan) Anderson of Vermillion, Melissa (Rick) Rernleitner of Huron, Lindsay (Zach) Davidson of Olathe, Kansas, Travis (Penny) Dover of Tea, Kayla Dover of Brandon, Karri (Seth) Sehr of Valley Springs; step-grandchildren, Lily, Sophie and Grace Griffith all of Sioux Falls; 12 great-grandchildren and 5 step great-grandchildren; Ethel’s two sisters, Wilma Johnson of LaVerne, California and Avis (Roger) Walz of Alcester and Roger’s sister-in-law, Wanda Stratman of Sheldon, Iowa.

Preceding Roger & Ethel in death were their parents; daughter, Rhonda Hoffman and her husband, Mikel; Ethel’s brother, Vernon Hansen; Roger’s brother, Neal Dover; Roger’s brother-in-law, Melvin Johnson and their niece and nephew, Jennifer Hansen and Kelly Hansen.