March 7, 1946 ~ September 25, 2025
Judy A. Machacek, 79, Crooks, SD, entered her eternal home on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls, SD.
A Celebration of Life Open House will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, SD, with a Memorial Service beginning at 11:00 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the St. Francis House or St. Vincent de Paul Society in Sioux Falls.
Judy Ann Conrad was born on March 7, 1946, in Yankton, SD, to George and Esther (Freier) Conrad. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Scotland, SD, and grew up on a farm near Scotland. Those were the days when everyone pitched in, whether it was milking cows, butchering spring chickens, stirring the lye soap made for the double washing machine or hanging the clothes out to dry. Judy and her brothers were responsible for herding the cattle from the ditches and riding along on their bicycles to keep them from taking off at intersections.
Judy graduated from Scotland High School in 1964 after she met the love of her life there. Dennis and Judy’s marriage was blessed at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church on July 28, 1967, in Scotland. The total cost of their wedding, which included a beautiful gown, rentals, live band, and the food for a sit-down meal for 225 guests was $370.
Judy’s love of teaching began when she was in elementary school. She’d have math worksheets prepared for “class” when her cousins would come to visit at the farm. She graduated from Southern/USD with a teaching degree, and she began her career teaching at Garfield Elementary in Sioux Falls with an annual contract paying $5,000. In 1986, she was looking for a part-time job and began teaching at the South Dakota Penitentiary, which led to her working there full-time until she retired in 2006. Judy was the first female to be hired “inside the walls.” Her final teaching journey led her to the Learning Center at Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls, teaching part-time during retirement.
Judy and Dennis bought their first home in Sioux Falls in 1969. They lived there until they moved to Crooks in 2000. Judy’s favorite hobby was fishing, but she also loved going to her son’s athletic events and later in life watching her grandchildren’s events. She loved spending time visiting with friends, cousins, and family.
Those left to treasure Judy’s memory are her husband, Dennis, Crooks, SD; son, Chad (Kiersta), Sioux Falls, SD, their children, Taylor, and Tanner (Katie), and their great grandchild, Emmett, Sioux Falls, SD; son, Todd (Andrea), Broomfield, CO, their children, Alexa, Sierra, and Bohdan; two brothers and their families, Charles (Karen), Scotland, SD, and Dennis (Judy Ann), Madison, SD; her in-laws, Don (Jackie) Machacek, Oklahoma City, OK and Rick (Deb) Machacek, Edmond, OK.
Judy was preceded in death by her parents, George in 2009, and Esther in 2021; and two siblings, Greg in 2007, and Twila Mae as an infant.
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