Lanny Vincent Stricherz
November 24, 1941 ~ March 10, 2026
The Celebration of Life Open House will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2026 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm at 5320 W. 49th Street, in the Gardenstone Community Room.
Lanny Vincent Gregory Stricherz came to life on November 24, 1941, at 811 N Fairfax Ave in an upstairs apartment, an imperfect person in an imperfect world and died on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. He was the second of seven children of Leo and Agnes (Fox) Stricherz. He is preceded in death by his parents and older brother, Greg and his Niece, Greg and Michi’s infant daughter, Lisa, his fishing and walking buddy, Tom McKeon as well as many other friends and relatives.
He is survived by his former wife Linda (Moi) Stricherz, Sioux Falls, his two children of whom he was extremely proud, David (Jamie) Minneapolis and Christine (Bill) Anderberg Sioux Falls as well as grandchildren Isaac, Emily and Oliver Stricherz, all of Minneapolis, Amanda (Jeremy) Brende, Lauren Anderberg, great grandsons Adrian Simms and Wesley Brende, all of Sioux Falls. He is also survived by Greg’s widow, Michi, Minneapolis and his siblings, RozAnn and Andrine Stricherz, Sioux Falls, Vince Stricherz (Gina Hills), Seattle WA, Dom (Nancy) Stricherz, Bedford TX and Diana (Bill) Sheehy, Valley Center, CA, his other fishing buddy and teacher, Zane Swenson as well as many friends and relatives.
He went to elementary school at Whittier Elementary thru 6th grade and finished elementary and high school at Cathedral High in Sioux Falls graduating in 1959.
As an adult, he had several jobs including bellhop at both of the Sheraton hotels, Cataract and Carpenter., in the plant at John Morrell, then ten years of sales for Morrell living in Sioux Falls, Custer, Denver, Willmar, MN and Cedar Rapids, IA, where he also worked for Rath Packing.
For 15 years he had his own business, first as a jobber for Schweigert Meats and then L S Distributing selling many food items to grocery stores and restaurants between Sioux Falls and Sioux City. After he shut his business, he sold for Demma Fruit Company for two years and was then a fraud investigator at Citibank for 10 1/2 years.
A weekend golfer and member of the Men’s Club at Elmwood, he carried a 12 to 14 handicap and had one hole in one, playing golf with Christine on Mother’s Day. An avid wader fisherman, Lanny claimed that he caught more than a thousand walleyes over 7 pounds in his life.
He enlisted in the US Army in December 1961 during the Berlin Crisis. He served 31 months in Germany and was honorably discharged in December 1964. As a veteran, Lanny spent the last thirty some years of his life, starting in 1990 during the first Gulf war and all wars after that, working for peace and justice in his community and the world.
In his later years, Lanny particularly enjoyed his Wednesday morning breakfasts with former Morrell workers Bob Perkinson, Ron Wallenberg, Gary DeRue, Lou Strum, Vince Keenan, Doug Sandburg, Lynn Joneson, Monte Skillman, Pat “Oscar” Siemonsma, and Ron Gaspar.
After cremation by Heartland funeral home his cremains will be placed in the columbarium at St Michael’s cemetery next to his Brother, Greg.
~Obituary magnificently written Lanny himself
Oh, Lanny, you will be so missed. Everyone who knew you loved you. Even though I hadn’t seen you in many years, you have always remained in my heart. We had so much fun together at Cathedra. God bless you and yours.
Thank you so much Kathie! What a beautiful message. I know that’s how I feel about my dad, but wonderful to hear from others. ❤️ Christine
Lanny was a person of passion, something we should all stride to be. He was true to what he believed in. A worthy trait we should all emulate. Your friend Monte Skillman
You nailed it Monte! Thank you for being a good friend to my dad. I know your group coffee was something he looked forward to. ❤️ Christine
You will be missed by the breakfast club.
Thanks Pat! ❤️
I didn’t know Lanny personally, but we corresponded over the last two years regarding the situation of mutual interest. He was, indeed, very passionate about what he believed in. And I commended him for that. It was an honor to get to know him via the written word. My last correspondence with him was earlier this week. We shared many of the same views. May he rest in peace.
Marilyn Nader
We lost a good man. Rest in Peace.
Thank you Vince – we did.❤️
Thank you Marilyn.????
It was in the early 1950’s that I first met Lanny, while we were both students at Cathedral Grade School. As it turned out, over the years we had several things in common, chief among them was our time spent together in the U.S. Army from 1961-1964. We had joined following the Berlin Crisis in the summer of 1961, I in September, and Lanny three months later. This was, indeed, significant, as so few of our fellow classmates saw it their duty to serve in the Armed Forces at the time, but we did. Another commonality that we shared was working at John Morrell & Company. I only worked during the summers for a few years, but Lanny put in quite a bit of time there, advancing to sales, etc. This was an amazing experience to me and to him, as well, I’m sure. Early on, too, in the mid-50’s we served mass together as altar boys at St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Who could forget serving Mass during the “Latin” period and shuddering in front of Msgr. Maloney? We did it together and strengthened one another! As time went on, I learned that Lanny attended a lot of funerals and helped people through their grief, as he did for me when my mother died. I couldn’t believe it when he showed up at Barnett’s; he didn’t know my mother; he knew me and wanted to come in a say a few words; I’ve never forgotten his kindness and am sure many others have probably thought the same. Though we didn’t hand out together over the past six or seven decades, he was still one of my favorite “hill-toppers”. RIP Lanny
Doug – thank you sharing how you knew our dad and for your kind words. ❤️ Christine
You were a good friend Lanny. We are going to miss you at the breakfast on Wednesday mornings.
Please accept my sincere condolences on Lanny’s passing. I met him when I was 18 at Citi. I liked his passion right from the start. I’m thankful that we’ve kept in touch here and there over the years, but I noticed he’s been quieter recently. I am grateful to have had many heart-to-heart convos with him and to have known him long after we were “work friends.” I’ll imagine him catching thousands of walleys and enjoying his walks.????
I worked with Lanny 20 years ago at Citi. He was such a kind-hearted man and full of integrity. Rest in peace, old friend.
I also worked with Lanny at Citi. He was such a nice guy. I loved sitting and talking with him. Rest peacefully Lanny.
Lanny, here’s an email you sent to me in 2009:
On vacation in Rome, I noticed a marble column in St. Peter’s with a
golden telephone on it. As a young priest passed by, I asked who the
telephone was for.
The priest told me it was a direct line to Heaven, and if I’d like to call,
it would be a thousand dollars. I was amazed, but declined the offer.
Throughout Italy, I kept seeing the same golden telephone on a marble
column. At each, I asked about it and the answer was always the same: a direct line to Heaven and I could call for a thousand dollars.
I finished my tour in Ireland . I decided to attend Mass at a local village
church. When I walked in the door I noticed the golden telephone.
Underneath it there was a sign stating: “DIRECT LINE TO HEAVEN 25 cents.”
“Father,” I said, “I have been all over Italy and in all the cathedrals I
visited, I’ve seen telephones exactly like this one. But the price is always a thousand dollars. Why is it that this one is only 25 cents?”
The priest smiled and said,
“Darlin’, you’re in Ireland now. It’s a local call.”
Rob and I had the pleasure of working with Lanny at Citi and staying connected even after we both left Citi. Lanny was also a Hawkeye fan and would share the ups and downs of both the football and men’s basketball seasons. We lost touch about 13 years ago, but we often thought of Lanny and how he was doing and enjoying retired life. He was a true gentleman, hard worker and wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion.
I’m listening to the Iowa/Nebraska basketball game as I type this, hoping to channel Lanny’s spirit to cheer the Hawks to a win and beat the Huskers!
I didn’t meet Lanny until he came to live at Collins Apartments, as I was the maintenance man there at that time. What a blessing it was to enjoy the kindness, sincereness, and comical side of this man! We shared our friendship on the phone and also shared our money gambling once in awhile at the Top Hat. He loved to play, I watched. I met his family there a few years back. On this day of his celebration of life, I will not be able to attend because of a bad cold and cough. I will, however, extend my deepest sympathy to all of his family.
I’m really late in this response and sorry to have missed visiting. The family has many wonderful memories for me. The oriental visits with my mom (keiko Cowles), going to many years of school with Diana, and then meeting Dom as a next door neighbor! My thoughts and prayers go out to you over your loss