Obituary of Douglas DeGroot

A funeral service for Douglas DeGroot, age 75, of Arnolds Park, will be held Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 2:00 PM at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Milford. Burial will be at Lakeview Gardens Cemetery in Spirit Lake. Visitation will begin at 12:30 PM on Saturday until the time of the service. Douglas Dale DeGroot was born September 30, 1941 in Austin, Minnesota to Clarence B. and Lauretta (Malmgren) DeGroot. He graduated from Worthington Minnesota High School in 1959. Doug lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for most of his life. After Doug met and married Sandra Bertelson in 1992, he moved to the Iowa Great Lakes Area. After Sandra's death in 2000, Doug met his special friend, Lola Recher and together with friends continued to love the fun life of Okoboji. "Doug loved the Lakes Area". Doug was employed as a service writer for Ben Hur Ford in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for many years and later worked as manager of the JCPenney Auto Center in Sioux Falls. After moving to the Lakes area, he was a salesman for Shoppers. Doug was a hard worker and was popular with both fellow employees and his customers. Doug loved his cars, especially the many mustangs that he owned through the years. He enjoyed boating, motorcycles, karaoke and cruising the Lakes in his 1959 Ford convertible. He attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally thirty-five times. Doug is survived by his son, Brian and his wife, Jean DeGroot of Yankton, South Dakota; his sister, Carol Tomford of Fulda, Minnesota; nephews, Bruce, Scott and Jesse and their families; step-daughters, Shelly Willison and Tracy Lemire; sisters-in-law, Rose Wonder and Lois Kayenhagen; one grandson and three step-grandchildren; and his special friend, Lola Recher. He is preceded in death by his parents; Brian's mother, Donna Oswald; wife, Sandra DeGroot; brothers-in-law, Jack Tomford and Ron Wonder and step-son, Tim Bertelson.