Graveside services for Gary P. Lindskov age 78 of Timber Lake will be at 2 PM, MT, Saturday, June 13, 2020 at Hillview Cemetery in Isabel. Visitation will be at 5 PM, CT, Friday at Kesling Funeral Home with a prayer service at 7 PM. A Celebration of life services will be at a later date. Gary passed away Saturday, May 23, 2020 at Avera St. Luke's Hospital in Aberdeen, SD. Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge is in charge of arrangements.

Gary Philip Lindskov was born in Dupree, South Dakota on January 17, 1942, the first born son of Art and Wilma (Dougall) Lindskov. They spent that first winter in Isabel, later moving to a sheep wagon near his family's ranch 7 miles north of Isabel. He attended Pleasant Ridge School 1 ^st grade through the 7th grade and then attended Isabel School, graduating valedictorian of his class in 1960 and named 'most likely to succeed' by his fellow classmates. After graduation, he attended South Dakota School of Mines, pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. At SDSM&T, Gary enlisted in the ROTC program. Upon graduating with his electrical engineering degree and the ROTC program, he was inducted into the U.S. Army as a 2 ^nd Lieutenant. He completed training at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. He was then assigned to Germany, where he became a 1 ^st Lieutenant and trained recruits for demolition techniques using explosives. Throughout his travels, he brought many souvenirs home for his family.

Upon returning from Germany, he went to work as an executive for the mainframe and super computer company, Control Data Corporation. This took him throughout many parts of the world and nation, Sweden, England, Canada, Minnesota, Texas, and Michigan. In the early 1970's he completed his Master's Degree in Business Administration at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Each summer for a couple of weeks, he would travel home and help his parents and brother AJ, on the ranch, 'release therapy' from the hustle and bustle of corporate America. In 1989 when Control Data Corporation was experiencing several years of losses, the corporation restructured and Gary retired, moving home to South Dakota, to work in partnership with his brother, AJ.

Gary liked to keep busy. He assisted AJ on the ranch with lambing, calving, putting up hay, and fencing, taking great pride in building and repairing fence. One would almost want to crawl in hole when a corner or gate post was wiped out moving equipment through it. He gently reminded his cousin Les and his boys that he had 'fixed that fence' during many conversations. He built several feed troughs for the livestock and his mother's flower beds. On one occasion during the spring of '97 blizzard, he spent the night in a tractor at sheep camp while tending to cows and newborn calves. With every storm, Gary became just 'a little bit tougher.' He worked as the assistant city finance officer in Mobridge when Darrell Gill was mayor. He taught a semester of Math at Timber Lake High School when they needed someone to fill the position until a teacher could be found. He taught Business and Accounting classes at Cheyenne River Community College.

Throughout Gary's life, he was an avid gardener, preparing and planting a large plot of produce, taking pride in growing the greatest pumpkins and watermelons ever. He was generous in giving all of his produce to friends and neighbors, seldom keeping anything for himself. He enjoyed pheasant hunting with the Larson's & Gill's and his bird dog, Herbie. Throughout the years, he was in charge of ticket sales for the Isabel Rodeo Association, Timber Lake Rodeo Association and Treasurer for the West River Table Players. You could find him collecting gate money, wearing his money apron and handing out programs, making this responsibility a top priority.

In 2017, Gary was selected as the Isabel Rodeo Association's Honoree, an award that he was most proud and appreciative of. In April 2018, Gary received a call that a kidney had been found for him. Sister-in-law Cindy and Gary drove through the night to Sioux Falls, getting him to his 5 AM appointment on April 18. The transplant was successful and he had an amazing Transplant Team to work with. During his extended stay in Sioux Falls, his family often looked after him. Brother Ken drove him down to Vermillion to check out the USD campus and how it had changed since he attended college there. Sister Marsha would travel in from Arlington. Cindy took him for his first and only pedicure at a man salon during one of his stays there. He enjoyed it but would never think of going on his own. In November of 2018, AJ & Cindy took him to a Minnesota Vikings Football game at the new US Bank Stadium. During that weekend in Minneapolis, he wanted to drive down to Apple Valley to see where he once lived. He was amazed at how the area had expanded recalling that there was a cornfield where an elementary school now stands. The home he had built is still there, along with the large rock he placed in the front yard and the pine trees he planted decades prior. We took him for pizza at the Ole' Piper Inn, his favorite hang-out. In February 2019, AJ, Cindy and Gary flew to Texas to visit his sister Sheryl and brother-in-law Leon and their family. In July of 2019, Gary encountered some heart complications and required a heart procedure that shut his kidney down. He would drive himself to Dialysis in Eagle Butte and his appointments in Mobridge, even though he had several invitations for company, he chose to do it as long as he was able. Gary was a most independent and private person. Only if he needed your assistance, would he call to ask for help. On the afternoon of April 21 ^st , Gary fell and broke his hip while attempting to change a lightbulb at his home in Timber Lake. He had surgery in Aberdeen on April 23 ^rd and then placed at the Bethesda Rehab Center to heal. Covid-19 had hit and restrictions prevented any outside visits from his family to the hospital and nursing home. An outside patio Family Visit took place with Gary on Wednesday, May 20 with Ken, Marsha and AJ present. It was a chilly, windy day and Gary was cold and couldn't hear much. During a few phone conversations sitting around the kitchen table, Gary gently reminded us all that his garden seeds were in a box on his desk in his room and we needed to get them planted. On Saturday, May 23, 2020, Gary was tired, his heart weak, and God intervened and called Gary to His side.

Gary is survived by his brother Ken (Judy) Lindskov, his sisters, Sheryl (Leon) Vasek, and Marsha (Roger) Weiss, and AJ (Cindy) Lindskov and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Gary is preceded in death by his parents, Art & Wilma Lindskov.