Eleanor (Boe) Ingalls, 94, of Maurine, SD, stepped into glory on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 at Aspen Grove Assisted Living in Sturgis, SD.

Eleanor LaVonne Boe was born Sept. 18, 1930, in a farmhouse near Vale, SD. She was the fourth of ten children born to Rudolph and Opal Boe.

She grew up on the farm with her parents, her grandparents and many brothers. As the only girl in the family at that time, Eleanor enjoyed special treatment from her Norwegian grandparents who lived in an adjoining part of the house.

When she was 8 years old, two important events happened. She finally got a sister to add to her 5 brothers, and the family moved to a ranch near Colony, Wyoming. In addition to doing lots of chores, Eleanor recalled many days spent playing in the Wyoming hills, returning home when her mother rang a bell on a post in the yard.

About 1942, the family moved back to the farm near Vale. Three years later when she was in high school, her father bought a grocery store in Vale, and the family moved to town. Along the way, three more brothers were added to the family.

Eleanor attended high school in Newell and Vale. Among other activities, she was on the basketball team and played coronet in the band. Because her mother was not always well, Eleanor regularly fixed meals for their family of nearly a dozen people. During her senior year, Eleanor and her brother Bryce took turns taking days off from school to run the grocery store and the boardinghouse above the store. In this situation and so many others throughout her life, she proved herself to be willing to do whatever job needed to be done.

After graduating from Vale High School in 1948, Eleanor attended an accelerated teacher-training program at Spearfish Normal School. She began her first year of teaching a few weeks before she turned 18.

During the fall of her second year of teaching, she met Hugh Ingalls at a community dance in Vale. Eleanor recalled saying to a friend, “Who’s that good looking guy? He must be from California.” Hugh’s dashing good looks and his kindness quickly won her over, and the two began dating. Her students used to tease her when her cowboy pilot buzzed over their school in his little red and white airplane.

Eleanor and Hugh were married at the First Lutheran Church in Newell on June 1, 1950. After a honeymoon trip to Yellowstone National Park, the couple moved into a small house along Horse Creek, just below Horse Butte in northwest Meade County. Children soon followed, starting with Marie then Peggy, Dan, Kenny, Beth and Laila.

While the family was growing up, Eleanor sewed her own clothes as well as most of her children’s. She raised a large garden and did lots of canning. She was a master at stretching a dollar, which was especially important during the lean early years. She taught her children how to cook and sew and made sure they had access to piano lessons, even if it meant driving them the 75-mile round trip to Faith.

Eleanor was an active partner in the ranch operations. She ran the windrower and moved cattle. She paid bills, kept the books, and assisted Hugh any way she could as they acquired land and grew their Black Angus herd. Eleanor put a lot of food across the table, feeding hungry ranch hands, neighbors and relatives who would squeeze around the expanded table in her tiny kitchen.

Eleanor was also involved in her church and the community. For many years she taught Sunday School and could be counted on to help with whatever project the church had going. She especially enjoyed several years of leading after-school Bible clubs in area schools. She loved teaching, and one year in the mid-60s she even dusted off her teaching certificate when she was asked to step in after a teacher left partway through the year. She went back to college that summer and taught another full year.

Eleanor loved to tell stories (she was a Boe, after all!), and she loved to laugh. She sometimes couldn’t contain her laughter, especially after successfully bluffing in a card game.

She cherished spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, her siblings and her friends. Most of all, she loved Hugh. She supported and stood by him through good and challenging times, during periods of timely rains as well as droughts and blizzards. She enjoyed being with him and sharing their lives together. They would have celebrated their 75th anniversary this coming June.

When she was diagnosed with a heart condition in December, Eleanor remained positive. “I’ve lived a great life,” she said. And as she looked toward her future, she told those around her, “It’s gonna be okay. And even it’s not okay… it’s still okay.”  Her faith in God was very strong, and she was not afraid. She knew that her Lord and Savior would welcome her with open arms.

Eleanor died peacefully in her sleep while holding Hugh’s hand.

Eleanor is survived by her husband Hugh, her six children: Marie (Daniel) Shilling, Peggy Rahn, Dan Ingalls (Monica Obregón), Kenny (Dana) Ingalls, Beth (Terry) Hotchkiss, and Laila (Phillip) Brownlee. Eighteen grandchildren , 42 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister Jean Lewton and brother George Boe; four sisters-in-law: Sandi Boe, Connie Boe, Elaine (Neal) Rowett, and Virginia Brandt; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents Rudolph and Opal Boe, her brothers: Bob, Ivan, Kenny, Bryce, Art, Norman and Dale, and her son-in-law Fred Lambing.

Hugh and the family would like to thank Marsha Moore and the staff at Aspen Grove for their loving care of Eleanor during these past few years.

A memorial has been established to Cedar Canyon Bible Camp where Eleanor served as registrar for more than twenty years. Donations can be directed to Kinkade Funeral Home or sent to Cedar Canyon Camp, % Prairie Home Church, 17010 US Hwy 212, Faith, SD 57626.