CARPENTER — Harold Walter, 87, of Carpenter, died Monday, May 29, 2017, at the Huron Regional Medical Center.
His funeral service will be at 10 a.m., Thursday, June 1, at Bethel Church of rural Yale. Burial will be in the Bethel Church Cemetery.  Visitation is today from 1 to 8 p.m. at the Kuhler Funeral Home with his family present from 6 to 8 p.m. 
Harold Emil Walter was born July 6, 1929, at the family farm near Carpenter. He was the second child born to Paul Jos and Ann (Hofer) Walter. Harold attended rural school in Milford Township in Beadle County for eight years, and then one year of high school in Yale. He worked for his dad on the family farm.
Introduced by friends to Betty Lou Losing after a movie in Huron, it was “love at first sight” for Harold. Less than a year later, he married Betty Losing June 26, 1953, in Huron. They moved into the farmhouse with Harold’s parents. In Fall 1955, they bought a house and moved it onto the family farm. They farmed here until 1994. Betty died in 2010, and Harold had continued to live on the farm until just earlier this year.
Harold raised sheep and later Charolais bulls and cattle, and sold registered and certified wheat, oats and barley seed. In 1970, 1974 and 1976, he received awards for soil and conservation achievement in South Dakota. In 1985, 1986 and 1991, Harold was the winner of the South Dakota Grain Sorghum Contest for grain sorghum yield and management in the non-irrigated category.
Harold was also a game sportsman. Beginning in his teen years, he became involved in trapping animals and selling the fur. He primarily trapped mink, but also muskrat and later fox and raccoon.  He hunted deer in both East River and West River and even antelope a few times. Hunting together was a fun family tradition and all of the children learned to hunt from their father. Harold had a reputation as a skilled marksman in the community. He enthusiastically participated as a landowner in the Ringneck Festival for many years. His team, “Cutt’em,” from Washington State won second place in the event in 2009.
In their retirement years, Harold and Betty enjoyed traveling to various farm and household sales, and craft shows. He also enjoyed planting a few acres of sweet corn for many years to sell in the area. Many in the community have commented that it was the best sweet corn they had tasted.
He is survived by his children, Tim Walter of Watertown, Veronica (Mark) Ohms of Malvern, Ark., and Pam (Lincoln) Engelbert of Rochester, Minn.; two grandsons, Seth Ohms and Daniel (Trinity) Ohms; and a great-granddaughter, Emily Ohms.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Betty; his sister, Mabel; his half-brothers, Eli and Cornelius; and his half-sister, Sarah.
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