Merlyn George Fenner

Merlyn George Fenner, 86, passed away Friday, July 30, 2021 at the Good Samaritan Society of New Underwood, with the love of his life holding his hand.
Merlyn was born June 13, 1935 to James & Elora (Fernau) Fenner, in his Grandma Fernau’s house. He grew up in the Elm Springs/Dalzell area, where he attended grade school. He graduated from New Underwood in 1953.
On May 25, 1957 Merlyn married Patsy Quinn in Rapid City. They were joined by Norm, Allen & Gloria.
Merlyn was a volunteer fireman for the New Underwood fire department for many years. He spent long hours tooling leather. The sound of the hammer as he was tooling were heard in the house on a lot of late nights. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, reading & mowing his yard. He took care of his fruit trees and garden, which he was proud of.
Merlyn was also known as the family historian. If anyone had a family question, he would grab the red book and get you an answer. Merlyn started working for HJ Kurth in Rapid City hauling mail. They then moved to Elm Springs and he helped with ranching at the Burmeister ranch. Soon after, they moved to Hot Springs, where he worked at the Ford shop. When they moved back to New Underwood he worked for Jim Hicks and Jack Tines driving cattle trucks and was a guard at the missile site. After that, Merlyn started working for Black Hills Milk Producers driving a milk truck. He worked there for over 30 years, until retirement. After retirement they purchased the Quinn ranch, where he enjoyed ranching with their family. Merlyn was always willing to help whenever and where ever he was needed.
Merlyn is survived by his wife, Patsy; sister, Ellen (Fenner) DeGeest; children, Norm (Robin) Fenner, Rapid City, Allen (Amy) Fenner, Gillette, WY and Gloria (Lynn) Smith, New Underwood; 10 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at the New Underwood Community Church. Visitation will begin at Noon.  Burial will follow at New Underwood Cemetery.  A reception will be held at the New Underwood Community Center following the burial.  
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the New Underwood Volunteer Fire Department.