Funeral services for Ora Jean Hardcastle, 91, of Mobridge will be at 11 AM, Friday, April 7, 2017 at the UCC Church in Mobridge. Burial will be at the Mobridge City Cemetery under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Visitation will start at 5 PM with a prayer service at 7 PM Thursday at the funeral home.

Ora Jean (Jean) Hardcastle passed away peacefully in her sleep at the Mobridge Golden Living Center on April 3, 2017, at the age of 91.

Jean was born on June 22, 1925, in Amherst, SD, to Richard and Erma (Renslow) Juelfs. She was raised on the family farm during the Great Depression. She and her two older siblings, Ina and Richard, Jr., rode their horse Maud to country school in Britton, SD. When her brother graduated and attended the University of South Dakota, she and her mother moved to Vermillion where Jean attended University High School. She graduated at age 16 and attended USD for two years, studying business and playing trombone in the University orchestra.

In 1945, Jean moved to Mobridge to work as a teller at the First National Bank. When Bill Hardcastle returned from his overseas tour in WWII, he would wait in line to frequent Jean's window at the bank, even when other tellers were available. They began dating, fell in love and were married on April 15, 1946 at the courthouse in Pierre, SD. They remained married for 62 years until Bill's death in 2008.

Together, they ran Hardcastle Transfer and raised eight children. Jean served as the secretary, bookkeeper, dispatcher, and chief helper of Hardcastle Transfer. After Bill retired from the moving business, they operated the Clutter Castle. Jean was a lifelong member of the United Congregational Church. She took a job as the UCC church secretary and worked for a number of pastors and interim pastors helping to keep the church operating smoothly through those transitions, finally retiring at age 75.

The Hardcastle home was filled with laughter and Jean's greatest joy was her family. She took great pride in her children's and grandchildren's accomplishments, great and small. She was always a "more-the-merrier" kind of mother whose house was filled with children, family, pets and strays. Jean was never too busy to stop to talk or help with homework. Her intelligence and keen wit were essential to all family events and get-togethers. She loved huge family gatherings and hosted Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations, inviting all those who would otherwise be alone during the holidays. Jean retained her sense of humor and shining disposition to the very end, remaining optimistic and hopeful.

Though the Hardcastle home was filled with noise and mayhem, Jean was always able to enjoy her artistic talents. She was a musician, an artist, and a writer. She loved to play her piano, do crossword puzzles, and compose humorous stories and poems. Her children treasure the poems Jean created for each of them when they were away from home. She documented her childhood in writings she called "Little Orie Stories" and in later years, she wrote and illustrated children's books for her grandchildren. She loved painting with watercolors and entered the Mobridge Art Show every year, glowing with pride on each ribbon she received.

Jean is survived by her children, Mary Cathleen Brockamp of Mobridge, Carol (Dennis) Fischer of Mobridge, Bill Hardcastle, Jr of Mobridge, Tom (Teddy) Hardcastle of Mobridge, Sherry Evans of Glendale, AZ, Patti (Tom) Bieder of Norfolk, VA, and Kim (Clint) Hamre of Peoria, AZ, as well as 21 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill, her son, Jon, her son-in-law, Jim Brockamp, her great-great-grandsons Graycen and Lukas Davis, as well as her parents and siblings.