Mrs. Earl "Butch" (Laura Ann) Tyrrell, age 82, of Jamestown, ND, and formerly of the Yale, Bancroft and DeSmet areas, died Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at Avera St. Luke's Hospital at Aberdeen, SD. Her funeral service will be at 2:00 PM Monday, April 5th at Trinity Lutheran Church at Yale with Rev. Bob Leiste officiating. Burial will be at Maplewood Cemetery at Iroquois. Friends may call Sunday afternoon and evening or Monday morning at the Welter Funeral Home or prior to the service at the church Monday afternoon. Laura Ann Dent was born on July 5, 1922, to Wilson M. and Maude (Garrett) Dent on her family farm north of Forestburg, SD. She attended grade school at Silvercreek #3 Country School and then Laura attended and graduated from Forestburg High School in 1940. She then attended General Beadle State College (Dakota State) at Madison, SD. Laura began teaching at the Yale school district and continued to teach in the Yale, Bancroft and DeSmet areas. On February 10, 1945, Laura married Earl "Butch" Tyrrell in a small service at Yale. They resided on a farm 6 ½ miles northeast of Yale until 1968 when due to a record snowfall they moved to Iroquois. From there they lived in Bancroft until the closing of the Bancroft School. She then taught 7th and 8th grade language arts in DeSmet until moving to Jamestown, ND in 1978. She worked at the North Dakota State Hospital on the Adolescent Unit until her retirement. Laura was a avid reader throughout her life until she lost most of her sight due to Macular Degeneration, although she continued to "read" through the Talking Book Program. Her other interests throughout her life included fishing, gardening, and canning what she grew. She crocheted many doilies and tablecloths, enjoyed sewing and working crossword puzzles. She was an avid Minnesota Vikings fan and enjoyed watching professional baseball as well. Laura had a very strong faith in God and enjoyed attending church until she became homebound but continued to receive communion on a regular basis. Next to her faith in God, her life's greatest joy was her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She is survived by her husband Butch of 59 years of Jamestown, ND; her children, Douglas (Sandi) Tyrrell of rural Huron, Duane Tyrrell of Huron, Mark Wilson Tyrrell of Riverton, WY and Mary Lois Lindberg of Tulare; seven grandchildren; twelve great grandchildren; two brothers, Wilson (Fern) Dent of Platte and Roger (Jackie) Dent of Connecticut; one sister, Audrey (George) Kempf of Seattle, WA as well as many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her step mother Genevieve, one daughter, Dianne "Bitsy" Warnell and her sister Doris. Her love was and will always be with the many children and friends she touched throughout her 82 years.
From the Welter Funeral Home online site