Mildred Irene (Tatum) Raymond

Mildred Irene (Tatum) Raymond “Millie” 90 of Ft. Pierre passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021 at her home surrounded by her family. Visitation will be held on Thursday, Sept. 16th from 5:00-6:30 p.m. with a 6:30 p.m. prayer service at the Isburg Funeral Chapel.  Funeral services will be held on Friday, Sept. 17 at 10:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Pierre with burial to follow at the Scotty Philip Cemetery in Ft. Pierre.   For those unable to attend the services they will be live-streamed on her obituary page at www.isburgfuneralchapel.com.

Millie was born on Oct. 18, 1930, to Clarence and Amy Pearl (McGeorge)Tatum, Sr. in Gregory County, SD. Millie was delivered at home by her grandmother, Martha McGeorge.  

Millie’s dad Clarence and two of his brothers Alfred and Roscoe married three sisters: Amy Pearl, Florence and Esther from the McGeorge family.  Millie lived on Scalp Creek in Fairfax, SD, on the family farm with her parents and siblings sister Mamie and brother Clarence Jr.  She attended Scalp Creek School and graduated from 8th grade. After graduation, she helped with the cooking, cleaning and gardening, so her mom could work the fields with her dad and siblings. Millie loved sharing childhood memories of her siblings and triple cousins. One not so fond memory was riding horseback to and from school with her siblings on the same horse and getting thrown from the horse most days.

Millie married Robert “Rainbow” Raymond on Dec. 16, 1948, in Lake Andes, SD. They lived in Lake Andes where Bob worked on the Ft. Randall Dam and until the completion of his service in the US Army. During this time they welcomed daughter Carla and son Dean.

In 1955, Millie and Rainbow moved their family to Pierre where Bob worked on the Oahe Dam.  They welcomed daughters Karen, Debbie, Monica and Kay. They lived on Missouri Street from 1962-1976 where the house was not only filled with her kids but most of the neighborhood kids as well. Everyone was welcome and greeted with her kindness. There was always room at the table if a friend needed a meal or a place to stay. No one was ever turned away. Millie babysat for several neighborhood kids with whom she shared a special relationship. She also cared for several elderly neighbors, making sure they were cared for by providing meals and giving them what they needed most, her company and friendship. 

Millie was truly a saint; she was meek, kind and giving.  What she gave most was unconditional love, and she expected nothing in return. Words she never spoke:  I wish I had, I want or I need.  Her only complaint was getting older.  She would say, golden years my...! 

Millie was a wonderful wife and an amazing mother and grandmother. She had an affect on people when meeting them for the first time.  They would say, she is so sweet, cute or I love her and want her to be my mom or grandma. For this, she was known by so many friends as mom or grandma. After raising her six children, she babysat daily for most of her grandchildren and even a lucky few great-great grandchildren.  Each grandchild should always remember and hold close to their hearts how much she loved you.

Millie and Rainbow never really had an empty nest, but that’s the way they preferred. She never passed up an opportunity to attend the grandchildren and great-great grandchildren’s event; she was a proud grandma. Millie enjoyed playing cards with family and friends, and doing word search puzzles, latch hook and embroidery. She loved cooking for her family and having everyone gather at home. If you stopped at the house for a quick visit, she would ask if you were hungry and the next thing you knew she would have a full buffet set-up on the kitchen table. Millie’s favorite past-time was playing bingo and bingo she loved.  Pretty sure she lost more than she won, but that didn’t matter because it was her time to relax and catch up with friends .

She also enjoyed and looked forward to daily chats with her good friend and neighbor Nancy Monson. Even during COVID and when her health started to fail, she and Nancy would call each other several times a day just to say hi and catch up. 

Millie and her family were blessed to have great-granddaughter, Missy Carroll stay with her during COVID to keep her safe and mostly for love and companionship.  Missy was there for Millie during her final days.

Millie is survived by her sister Mamie Johnson Macaulley of Cottage Grove, Oregon, son Dean Raymond (Deborah) of Pierre, daughters Debbie Miller (Mike) Philip, SD, Monica Harding (Steve) of Pierre, Kay Pearson of Ft. Pierre and son-in-law Allen LeBeau of Rapid City, 18 grandchildren, 40 great grandchildren and 10 great-great grandchildren.

She is proceeded in death by her parents, husband Robert Raymond,1 brother Clarence Tatum, Jr.,  2 daughters Carla LeBeau, Karen Raymond Durham, 2 son-in-laws Todd Pearson and Henry “Tuck” Durham.