Dale D. Ingalls

Dale D. Ingalls, lifelong Opal, SD area rancher, died at Rapid City Memorial Hospital on Sunday, December 6, 2020. A private burial service will be held at Opal Cemetery, and due to COVID-19, a public service to celebrate Dale’s life is planned for spring or summer 2021. A memorial will be announced at a later date.

Dale Delaney Ingalls was born in Faith, SD on December 31, 1933 to Lawrence and Marie (Vig) Ingalls. At the age of five, his mother passed away. Largely raised by their father, he and his four siblings learned the importance of family, friends, and faith in God through hard times. Dale attended rural grade school at Royal Center and graduated from Sturgis High School. He married the love of his life, Marie Cecilie Jensen from Faith, SD, on June 20, 1955. They enjoyed 65 years of marriage, and Dale’s devotion to Marie was evident as he cared for her full-time after her battle with brain cancer.

Proud of his family and heritage, he and his father, Lawrence, and brother, Hugh, ran Ingalls Angus Ranch–the oldest registered Black Angus herd in South Dakota. Later, Dale ran his herd with his son, Duane, but sold the cattle in 2007 after Duane’s untimely death. He was actively involved in the SD and American Angus Association and SD Stockgrowers.

A true cowboy gentleman, Dale loved his life as a rancher and the seasons of the South Dakota prairie, especially the spring with new lambs and calves. Dale was kind to all and was loved by everyone who knew him. He treasured time with family, neighbors, and friends–whether the holidays at the ranch or with his in-laws, welcoming hunters in the fall (who would become lifelong friends), winter sports and card games at the cabin, bringing his nieces and nephews to the ranch for work and play, or dancing the two-step at Opal Hall.

Dale thrived on a good road trip and on traveling the world with Marie, family, and close friends. He took many hunting and fishing trips to Canada and Alaska. Dale was involved in South Dakota politics, served as director of the Faith Stock Show, active in Farm Bureau, and also served on the Board of the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks. For years, Ingalls Angus hosted a 4-H judging school for kids from around the state, and Dale and Marie owned Ingalls Department Stores in Sturgis and Faith.

Dale will be forever missed. He is survived by his wife, Marie (Jensen) Ingalls; daughter, Delane Ingalls (Dan) Vanada; grandchildren, Kelsi, Aaron, and Kirstin Vanada, Samantha Nield, and Kealy Branson; great-grandchildren; brother Hugh Ingalls; sisters Mable Stomprud, Elaine Rowett, and Virginia Brandt; and numerous nieces and nephews. Dale was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Marie (Vig) Ingalls, and son, Duane Dale Ingalls.