Carol Lea Cope
November 26, 1938 ~ July 24, 2023
Carol L. Cope, 84, Brandon, passed away peacefully, Monday, July 24, 2023, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, surrounded by her three daughters and her sister.
Visitation with family present will be 5-7pm, Monday, July 31, 2023, at Heartland Funeral Home. Funeral services will be 10:30am, Tuesday, August 1, 2023, also at Heartland Funeral Home, with visitation beginning one hour prior. Interment will follow at the Canton Lutheran Cemetery, Canton, SD. To view this service live, click here.
Carol Lea Hetlet was born on November 26, 1938, in Inwood, IA, to Olaf and Lilly (Enger) Hetlet. Carol graduated from high school. Carol met a young man named Richard Cope, who traveled to South Dakota from Florida to try pheasant hunting. Dick returned to Florida for one month before coming back to South Dakota for Carol. They married the following July 5, 1959, in Huron, SD. Dick and Carol were married for 59 years before Dick’s passing. In 1975, the family moved to Brandon, where they lived in the same house for 43 years. Dick and Carol opened several businesses selling t-shirts, fudge, jewelry, and other items in Deadwood, Sturgis, Okoboji, and Sioux Falls.
Carol and Dick loved to travel and they took trips all over the country including, Hawaii, Alaska, Norway, and trips to Florida to visit relatives. Carol was very close to her family, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She cherished visits from all of her family and especially enjoyed family gatherings. Carol often referred to her daughters as “my three treasures.”
Carol is survived by her three daughters, Tami (Kevin) Goembel, Worthing, Kris (Kevin) Mielke, Canton, and Wendy (Jim) Metzger, Brandon; six grandchildren, Dallas (Erica) Goembel, Dani (Nate) Finney, Matthew Mielke, Ryan Mielke, Kaycee Metzger (fiancée Josh Price) and Kenzie Metzger (fiancée Jordan Ide); five great-grandchildren, Thomas, Samuel, Brynn, Bennet and Kolsen; one brother, Jerry Hetlet; and one sister, Linda Grieme.
Carol was preceded in death by her husband, Dick; her parents; and her brother, Dennis.
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