Dorothy A. Sargent, age 95, of Highmore and formerly of Miller, passed away on Monday, March 22, 2021, at Highmore Health in Highmore. A graveside service will be held for the family at Riverside Cemetery in Huron, SD on Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 2 PM. Visitation with the family present will be Friday, March 26 from 4-6 PM at the Welter Funeral Home in Huron.

Dorothy was born, the youngest of four children, 19 March 1926 to Francis Robert and Dorothy (King) Daskam in Los Angeles, California, where she spent her formative years.  On 3 October 1944 in Los Angeles,  Dorothy married Kenneth Alan Sargent, a Marine serving in WW II.  They lived in California while he finished out his enlistment and recuperated from his war injuries. They then moved to Kenneth's native state of South Dakota shortly after the birth of their first child in 1945.  Dorothy and her husband bought a farm 3 miles north of Wessington where they lived until Kenneth's war injuries necessitated his leaving farming. They then lived in Huron until 1956 when they bought a farm 4½ miles north of Wolsey, where they lived until Kenneth's death in 1996.  Dorothy moved to Huron in 2000 and then to Miller in 2010 to be near her family.

Dorothy was an active woman who enjoyed many pastimes.  She and her husband loved to square dance and taught many others, including the developmentally challenged at the Redfield State Hospital and School whom they taught for five years. She held innumerable positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader, executive board member of Friends of Maga Ta-Hohpi,  Marine Corps League Auxiliary CEO and chartering officer, and served in various other service organizations.  In addition to raising her own children, she and Kenneth also lovingly cared for 19 foster children at various times and helped to raise four grandchildren.  Dorothy loved to garden and turned 10 acres of their farm near Wolsey into a national award winning conservation park where they hosted picnics for various organizations.  Dorothy enjoyed her plants so much that, while in her late seventies, she took a job at Runnings greenhouse in Huron during the spring just for the fun of it.

Dorothy had a great passion for doing family history and helping others with their histories.  She traveled the state giving seminars and spent many family vacations doing research in courthouses, cemeteries, and libraries.  For over 40 years she served as the Family History Center Director and librarian for her church.

When home computers became available, Dorothy saw their potential and dived right into the experience wholeheartedly.  She used them to help publish Beadle County, A People's History, to organize her family history, to do research on the internet, and even to serve two missions (four years) for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helping others troubleshoot computer related issues worldwide on New Family Search.

Dorothy valued volunteer work throughout her life.  In her teen years she sang in a church youth choir who weekly sang on the radio and spent their Sunday afternoons singing for the geriatric, pediatric and prison wards of the Los Angeles General Hospital. Her most recent volunteer activities involved helping out at Miller Elementary School and Good Samaritan Nursing Home.  She also taught the 8-11 year old Sunday School class at church. It was Dorothy's hope that her love for Christ and others showed through her service.

Dorothy is survived by five children, Dorothy (JG) Bronson of Tremonton, Utah, Kenneth (Bobbe) Sargent, Jr. of Saratoga Springs, Utah, Bob (Eva) Sargent of Fleming Island, Florida, Barb (Lowell) Jones of Ree Heights, SD, and Patricia (Wayne) Ames of Miller, SD; 20 grandchildren; 35 great grandchildren and 9 (+2 expected) great great grandchildren.

Dorothy was the last of her generation and was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; a son, Kevin Scott Sargent in infancy; a granddaughter, Jennifer Jones in infancy;  four great grandchildren, Braydon VanRoosendaal in infancy, RJ Tighe, Lacey Work in infancy, and Micah Thornberg in infancy; two brothers, Francis Daskam in infancy and Robert (Gladys) Daskam; a sister, Marian (Harold) Murphy; three brothers-in-law, John (Florence) Sargent, Roger (Edna) Sargent, Burton (Helen) Sargent; and a sister-in-law, Elaine (Francis) Martens.