Louise Schaller, age 88, of Wessington Springs, died Friday, November 28, 2025, at Weskota Manor. Memorial services will be held at a later date.
Louise Helena (Hines) Schaller was born March 24, 1937, to Truman and Helena (Ehlers) Hines on a farm north of Crow Lake, SD during a threeday blizzard with the aide of her grandmother, Lillie Ehlers.
Louise attended country school for eight years. She attended High School in Woonsocket. She did babysitting for a number of families in the Woonsocket area and later worked at the Corner Café. While working there, she met Keith Schaller through a friend. They were married November 27, 1955, at the Calvary Baptist Church in Huron, SD.
They lived in Alpena, SD for a year and then in Lubbock, TX for a year before returning to South Dakota in 1958. Louise worked at the Storla Sunset Nursing Home. In 1969, they moved to a farm near Lane, SD. In 1975, Louise went to work at the Lane School as a cook for five years. In, 1980 she went to work at Weskota Memorial Medical Center as a nurse aide. Later she obtained her CNA license and worked at Weskota Manor part-time as well. In 1981, she took her EMT training and served on the ambulance. In 2006, she retired from the hospital and ambulance to care for her husband, but still helped others from time-to-time in their homes.
After her husband Keith passed away in November 2009, she cared for a great grandson, Nolan, part-time and went back to work parttime as a CNA at Weskota Manor Avera for two years. She retired in 2012 for good. In June 2013, she started caring for another great grandson, Lorin, nearly full time until January 2017, when a heart condition made her cut back to just babysitting part-time.
Louise loved raising a large garden, canning, growing flowers and taking pretty bouquets to people. She was a self-taught cake decorator and made many beautiful wedding and birthday cakes, many without pay. She loved to draw as a child and in later years took painting lessons from Margaret Schmidt in Lane and enjoyed it.
Louise became a Christian at age 13 when she accepted ChristasherSaviorandwas baptized by immersion in Lake Prior at Woonsocket, SD. She taught Sunday school most of her adult life. She mostly enjoyed teaching the preschoolers. She gave up teaching when it got too hard for her to get down to their level. She also helped with AWANA for many years and enjoyed missions like White Cross. As a young girl, she wanted to be a missionary, so missions were a big part of her heart.
She was also a blood donor and gave nine gallons of blood until a heart condition stopped her. In keeping with her giving spirit, she has donated her body to science to help in teaching medical students.
Louise is survived by her three children Debera Starr, Dorrie Grubb, and Lorin (Beverly) Schaller; her grandchildren Dustin (Yolanda) Schaller, Jodi Starr (Kevin), and Shiloh Starr; Allegra (Aaron) Fink; Marie (Shawn) Jaacks, Ryan Schaller, Randy (Sarah) Schaller, Allen Schaller (Bailee); and great grandchildren Thomas Phanthavong, Corey and Camdyn Fink, Faith, Harley, Matthew, Lucas, and Claire Jaacks, Nolan and Lorin Schaller, Sabryna, William, Benjamin, and Timothy Schaller; and her siblings, Orville (Sue) Hines of CO, and Wanda (Dennis) Guttormson of ND; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband Keith, her parents, her sister Esther Kirton and brothers Wesley and Melvin Hines, and her granddaughter Danielle Schaller.
