Leola May Graff

October 29, 1926 ~ November 2, 2024

Leola M. Graff, 98, Sioux Falls, SD, passed away on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at Dow Rummel Village in Sioux Falls, SD.

A Private Burial will take place at Brandon Lutheran Cemetery.  A Memorial Service will begin at 1:30pm, Friday, December 27, 2024, at Heartland Funeral Home, with a time of fellowship and visitation following the service.

Leola May Pederson was born on October 29, 1926, in Garretson, SD.  She graduated from Garretson High School in 1944 as a Salutatorian.  She attended Augustana College for 9 months then attended Nettleton Commercial College in Sioux Falls.  She married Harvey Graff at the Palisades Lutheran Church on September 20, 1948, east of Garretson where she was baptized and confirmed.  

Leola worked as a bookkeeper at a medical clinic in Boulder, CO, while Harvey attended Pharmacy school at the University of Colorado. She then worked for 20 years as an Administrative Assistant in Financial Aid at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Following retirement, she was a volunteer for the South Dakota Department of Tourism at the Vermillion I-29 rest stop. In 1992, they moved to Sioux Falls to be closer to their two sons and five grandchildren. Leola was a volunteer at Sioux Valley Hospital and was also a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls.

Leola is survived by her son, Scot (Debra Elofson) Graff; daughter-in-law, Kim Graff; grandchildren, Claire (Cody) Strong, Hayden (Shahad) Graff, Sarah (Joel) Mettler, Emily (Nate) Loos, and Dr. Peter (Guillermo) Graff; three great-grandchildren, Gavin and Wesley Strong, and William Loos.

Leola was preceded in death by her husband, Harvey Graff; son, Alan Graff; parents, Ed and Emma Pederson; sisters, Ione Miller, and Junie Remme; and brother, Leonard Edmundson.

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