Buster Deuter

Francis “Buster” Deuter, 87, of Ree Heights, died Tuesday, July 22 at Littleton, Co.  Funeral Service were 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Ree Heights Auditorium.  The  prayer service was 7:00 p.m. at the Ree Heights Community Church on Friday, July 25.  Burial was at the Morningside Cemetery at Ree Heights.  Rembold Funeral Home of St. Lawrence was entrusted with Buster’s funeral arrangements.

Francis Franklin “Buster” Deuter was born August 27, 1920 at the family home in Campbell Township, Hand County, SD, to Benjamin Franklin and Margaret Myrtle (Wallace) Deuter.

With the exception of a few of his childhood years, which were spent in Ohio, he spent all of his life in Hand County, most of it in Ree Heights.  He attended school in Alden Township a few years, and then attended school in Ree Heights, graduating in 1940.  He began working for Roger Paine soon after high school.

He married Lois Paine, February 22, 1947, in Miller, SD.  They made their home in Ree Heights all their married years.  The two of them ranched together for 56 years until Lois’s death in 2003.  They spent many years digging arrowheads from the buffalo kill site on their ranch and sharing their artifacts through tours of their museum and kill site.  He liked picking the first crocus in the spring, spending time picking raspberries and hunting deer at their cabin in the Black Hills.

Buster had a real passion for sports.  Not only did he enjoy participating in various sports but he also spent countless hours developing the skills of and encouraging the youth of the area. He coached Jr. Jr. baseball for several years, as well as playing baseball himself on several local teams. In later years, he coached the Ree Heights girls’ softball team and was inducted into the Softball Hall of Fame in 1987. He also coached Ree Heights' grade school basketball as a volunteer. Buster was an avid hunter and trapper all his life and was a Hunter Safety Course instructor for 32 years. Buster drove the Ree Heights school bus routes for many years and touched the lives of many young people.  

Buster was a charter member of the Ree Heights Fire Department and served as Fire Chief for 32 years. He also served many years on the town board, was a director of the Morningside Cemetery Association, and a member of the Ree Heights Church.

He is survived by six children: Dan (Ellie) Deuter, of Montrose, CO; Terry (Kim) Deuter, of Kadoka, SD; Casey (Jan) Deuter, of Ree Heights, SD; Sally (Joe) Watkins, of Hartford, SD; Jim (Pati) Deuter, of Ree Heights, SD; and Susan (Randy) Knippling, of Gann Valley, SD; great nephew Rocky (Skyla) Nicholas, of Pierre, SD, seventeen grandchildren, twenty-three great grandchildren, five step grandchildren, and ten step great grandchildren; six sisters: Helen McKay, Orient, SD; Bethene (Jerry) Ray, Chardin, OH; Maxine Deuter, Miller, SD; Betty Deuter, Miller, SD; Evelyn (Dean) Hyde, Pierre, SD; Dot (Allen) Hansen, Ree Heights, SD; two brothers: Dick (Violet) Deuter, Rapid City, SD; and Johnny (Pat) Deuter, Humboldt, SD. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lois, his parents, a stillborn son, his brother Donald, sister-in-law Ethel, brother-in-law George McKay and his “Killer” dog.

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