Lorraine Zimney

Memorial services for Lorraine Zimney 88, of Ferney will be 2:00 p.m., Sunday, February 9th at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Ferney. Rev. Lloyd Redhage will officiate. Inurnment will follow in the spring at St. Paul's Cemetery under the direction of Paetznick-Garness Funeral Chapel, Groton.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church.

Lorraine passed away February 5, 2020 at Avera McKennan Hospital, Sioux Falls.

Lorraine Darlene was born December 26, 1931 to Alvin and Mabel (Mielke) Jorgensen.  She attended country school through the eighth grade and graduated from Groton High School in 1949. After graduation she completed a ten-week summer college course and started her 38 year career in teaching at the age of 17. She taught in five different country schools, and each summer had to take additional courses to keep her “special certificate”.  She later taught in Ferney, and finished her last 26 years with the Groton School District.  Lorraine and Richard Zimney were married August 15, 1955. They resided on the farm until 1998 when they moved into Ferney. They were blessed with a son, Rich, and as parents spent many hours traveling to his baseball, football and basketball games, or listening to the radio broadcasts if they could not be there in person.

Summer weekends were spent at their cabin on Blue Dog Lake where their niece, Deb Gerlach and children Blake, Melissa, Patrick, Lindsay and Jacqueline often joined them.

Lorraine enjoyed playing the organ and harpsichord, even though she never took music lessons, instead teaching herself to read music.

Another hobby was watching Bob Ross on PBS.  This led to a love of painting with oil and acrylic on canvas.

After her husband died in 2003, she bought a computer, started using the internet and took an on-line writing course to help her publish her first book “Teddy”, and her second book “Teddy the Sequel”.   Her teaching experiences inspired the writing of her third book “Memories of One-Room Schools”.

Preceding her in death were her husband, parents and one brother, DeWayne (Sody) Jorgensen.

She is survived by her son Rich (Tami), grand children Kevin Pray, Lisa Pray, and Jasper Pray, great-grandchildren Laila Roberts and Hailey Pray.

Honorary Urnbearers will be Jim Rentz, Don Hoops, Kevin Pray, Jasper Pray, Blake Gerlach and Pat Gerlach.

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