WESSINGTON SPRINGS — Verda LaRae (Kringen) Flannery 83, of Wessington Springs, left this earth on Thursday, April 5, 2018, surrounded by her family in Coronado, Calif.
Verda was born on Jan. 27, 1935, in Dell Rapids to Alfred and Helen (Schroeder) Kringen. Verda finished school in Huron, and on May 31, 1952, she married Gerald Rodney Flannery.
Together they raised five children and Rod’s military and business career took the family to many fun and interesting places. Verda was a devoted wife and mother and put all her fortitude into her family.
After Rod’s passing in 1984, she was instrumental in opening the Corner Pantry store in Wessington Springs. During the next sixteen years she was passionate about customer service and excelled at finding ways to make her customers feel welcome. She worked countless hours at the store while also building a great camaraderie with the employees. She held a special place in her heart over the years for all the fine people that worked with her at the Pantry. For several years she hosted the annual Corner Pantry 5k Fun Run, one of the local highlights on July 4th.
When not at her business she would spend countless hours on another passion, tending to her home and yard. Never one to sit still, if there was daylight there was work to be done and she loved finding new touches she could put into her yard and home. She always wanted to be the one doing the yard work and would insist on mowing the lawn herself until just a few years ago. A considerable feat given that by then she substituted the walker she needed for the lawnmower. She had a keen sense of humor that never ceased to delight those who knew her.  
The past twenty-five years she enjoyed spending winters in Calif. and in 1998, she met her love, Robert Phillips of San Diego. Bob and Verda spent the next twenty years together enjoying each other’s loving company. They traveled and shared countless happy memories. Whether she was at her business, a sidewalk café in Venice, the Kentucky Derby or hosting friends on her patio, her first concern was to be gracious and always serving others. Verda was a kind and generous soul and will be missed by many.   
Two brothers, Duewain Kringen, and Denny Kringen, preceded Verda in death. Two of her five children also preceded her in death, Kim (Flannery) Busby, and Kevin Flannery.
She is survived by three children, Kris LaRae (Flannery) McMullin (Steve McMullin), Karen Jean (Flannery) Weiss (Thomas Weiss), and Kelly Dean Flannery (Victoria); two sisters, Sandy Spencer, and LeeAnn (Dale) Pack; sixteen grandchildren,  all of whom had a close and loving relationship with their grandmother; and nine great-grandchildren.
Services for Verda will be Saturday, June 9, with a memorial mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 11 a.m., followed by a Celebration of Life at the Springs Inn at 12 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be sent to the Springs Area Bus, Inc. P.O. Box 395, Wessington Springs, SD 57382 or the Prospect Hill Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 316, Wessington Springs, SD 57382.
Visit www.bashamfuneralservice.com
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