Rebecca A. (Wipf) Zerbel, 101, of Pierre, SD, passed away Sunday, August 14, 2022, at Avantara Pierre, SD.
Visitation for Rebecca will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. with family present on Friday, August 19, 2022, at United Methodist Church in Redfield. Her funeral service will follow at 10:30 a.m., with Pastor Melissa Rowenhorst officiating. There will be lunch and fellowship following the service, prior to burial in the Ebenezer Cemetery at rural Doland.
Her funeral service will be live-streamed to the funeral home's website, below Rebecca’s obituary. Arrangements have been entrusted to Hyke Funeral Home in Redfield. (www.hykefuneralhome.com)
Rebecca (Wipf) Gross Zerbel was born April 13, 1921, at her parents’ home near Carpenter, SD. After her mother's death in April 1924, she lived with her maternal grandparents until her father married Mary Tschetter in 1925. Rebecca went to a rural school near Carpenter and Hitchcock, where she graduated from 8th grade. She was a member of Prairie Bible Church and was baptized in 1938.
In the spring of 1940, she worked for a family near Doland, SD, where she met her husband, Joe Gross. They were married on October 9, 1940. They bought their farm southeast of Doland, working together for many years. They had a son, Ted, and two daughters, Delcie and Jolene. In 1972 they sold their farm and moved to Redfield, SD. She cared for Joe until he died from cancer on August 19, 1989. She married Clinton Zerbel on August 15, 1993, and they lived in Redfield. Clinton died on April 21, 1998.
Rebecca joined the United Methodist Church in Redfield and was a member of the Martha Circle. She was also active in the Senior Citizen Center of Redfield, serving and clerking. She enjoyed helping people and her many friends.
Rebecca was preceded in death by her parents; husbands Joe and Clinton; son Ted; sons-in-law Dean and Warren, daughter-in-law Vera; sisters Anna and Mary; her brother Elmer; brothers-in-law Andrew, Richard, Jim, Marlin, Dan, Alvin, and Vince; sisters-in-law Dora and Bernice.
Grateful to share her life are her daughters, Delcie and Jolene; son-in-law Jerry Eslinger; grandchildren Daryl (Lisa), Darla (Mark), Davis (Ari), Charlene (Barb), Darlene, Tonya (Chuck), and Greg. Rebecca also had 16 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren who were all her pride and joy.
She also leaves to mourn her brother Iky; sisters: Kathryn, Martha, Darlene, and Mariam; many nieces, nephews, and extended family of Clintons.
