Byron "Louie" Akerson

Byron "Louie" W. Akerson, 83, Rosholt, SD, passed away Thursday, January 2, 2020 at Coteau des Prairies Hospital in Sisseton, SD.

Funeral services will be Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Lutheran Church in rural Rosholt with Rev. Suzanne Benidt officiating.  Music will be provided by organist Lana Sand, pianist Buffy Kemnitz, and vocalists Paul and Lana Sand, Swede and Pam Anderson, Irv and Linda Slaamot, and Paul and Diane Bartnick.

Burial will be in the St. Joseph Lutheran Cemetery, rural Rosholt.  Military honors will be provided by the Leo American Legion Post 48 of Rosholt and the Read Veflin American Legion Post 180 of New Effington.  Honorary urn bearers will be all of Louie's AA Family.  Active urn bearers will be Louie's godchildren ~ Timothy Ostby, Sheila Pohl, Brian Johnson, Nancy Nash, Ann Faldin, Erik Danger, Mitch Ekstrom, and David Johnson.

Visitation will be Wednesday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. followed by a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. at the Eggers Funeral Home in Rosholt.

Louie Akerson was born on September 7, 1936 to George and Alma (Skibenes) Akerson. He was born in the car while George drove Alma to the hospital, and an article in the next week's Rosholt Review read "Stork Wins Race Beats Chevy." At the age of three he lost his father, and Alma remarried Oscar Olson. He was raised a "farm kid" and attended Harmon #1 country school only a few miles away through eighth grade. He then enrolled in Morris Ag School in Minnesota where he graduated in 1954. He attended Gustavus Adolphus College for one year and joined the United States Army in 1955. He attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, then was transferred to Fort Bliss, TX to complete Advanced Individual Training in preparation for deployment to Italy where he served with the Sixth Armored Division until 1957. After returning to the United States, he continued to serve in the Army Reserves with the rank of E5 until he was honorably discharged in 1962.

Louie often said, "I was born with a handle in my hand," and after returning home he began farming with his brother Sherwin while also honing his carpentry skills working with other young local farmers building houses in Houston, TX. He married his childhood sweetheart Faye in Trondhjem Lutheran Church on September 20, 1959, and after their wedding they lived on several farms near Rosholt, moving seven times in five years. During this time, Louie farmed and they were soon blessed with their son Kirk in 1960. In 1964 their daughter Kimberly was born, and they brought her home from the hospital on Kirk's fourth birthday. Louie began part-time work hauling gravel for Gene Paulson and with the Farmer's Elevator, and also worked as a salesman at Carlson Implement. He then accepted a full-time position with the Farmer's Elevator in 1965 that enabled them to purchase their home in 1966 when the family moved to town. Louie continued work with the Farmer's Elevator until 1972 when he and and Faye purchased the Osheim Hardware store. Together they turned it into Akerson Hardware, serving their friends and neighbors until 1986.

That year they set out on a new adventure and moved to Roseville, MN, working as estate managers and caretakers for Mrs. Ruth Johnson. Through a referral in 1996, they moved to Edina, MN to work for Mr. and Mrs. Carl and Eloise Pohlad in the same capacity. They retired in 2009 and returned to Rosholt, enjoying the home that they had renovated extensively over the years together. Louie then worked for the state of South Dakota as a Travel Counselor at the New Effington, SD Information Center located off Interstate I-29, sharing his love for "God's Country."

A man of deep and unyielding faith, he was a lifelong member of St. Joseph Lutheran Church and served for several years as council President. He was deeply involved in his community and served on several committees and volunteered with the Rosholt Fire Department and Ambulance Service. He served as a member of the local Color Guard in parades and at Memorial Day and funeral services. He was initiated, passed, and raised a Master Mason in 1969 at White Rock Lodge #138 and was an active Freemason for over 50 years. He raised both his son Kirk and grandson Kody into the fraternity.

Louie's glass was always half full, and he was a lover of life and a storyteller with a friendly word and joke for everyone he met. He believed you can make someone's day with just a smile and that "a stranger is just a friend you haven't yet met." He was a good friend of Bill W. for 29 years. He loved to hunt waterfowl with friends and left Faye a hunter's widow throughout many hunting seasons.

Louie, beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and godfather is survived by his children Kirk (LaVonne) Akerson and Kimberly (David "Flip") Wilson; grandchildren Kody (Tasha Heesch) Akerson, Hannah Akerson, Alyssa (Jan Paul Kaim) Benson, Ashley (Elliot) Sikora, and Bruce (Christina Hanstein) Wilson; great-grandchildren Emmy and Ari Sikora; sisters Marlys Chase and Jeannette Danger; sisters-in-law Bonnie (Darrell) Ekstrom and Carmen Ostby, and many nieces, nephews, and godchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents; brother Sherwin (Lila) Akerson; brothers- and sisters-in-law Ed Schlachter, Ray Chase, Mike Danger, Willard (Beulah) Braaten, Dean Ostby, Lloyd (Betty) Pearson, and his angel Faye. We know they're in heaven dancing together again.