Gale C. Holbrook

October 18, 1923 - November 28, 2019

Gale C. Holbrook, 96, of Rapid City, a kind and gentle soul, passed away on November 28, 2019.

A loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather who loved his family with all the power of his delightful heart. A true friend to all in his family and broad circle of friends. Always giving kind words of praise, encouragement and patient words of wise counsel.

He carried a song in his heart that always bubbled forth from his lips. The angels will welcome him into their choir.

We will miss his recitations of "Casey at the Bat" and Lincoln's, “Gettysburg Address”. His seemingly endless knowledge of songs will no longer delight our ears.

Our dad was a proud member of the United States Navy during World War II. Proud of his country and its values. He is part of the "Greatest Generation" that inspired generations of young people to serve and defend. He planted in all of us a love of country and sense of duty.

He was a successful local businessman whose true passion was for public service. He served this community for twenty years in many different capacities. Always a man of integrity. Always the one who sought to unify. A man who refused to raise false expectations. A man who demanded integrity of himself and others. A true, loyal and trusted public servant. A friend to all he met. A man whose greatest happiness came from helping others.

The smile that twinkled in his eyes will be missed.

The word love was not only spoken with his voice. It reflected that emotion through his eyes.

He taught us many things. The most important lesson, based on the childhood song, "Jesus loves me, this I know". A truth passed along from parent to child. Now, the role was reversed. I reminded him of that old childhood song. We sang it together and I asked him who loved him. Jesus was our dad's reply.

He knew in his heart what Apostle Paul said:
     “You can have all the faith and hope in the world, if you do not have love, you have nothing.”

In honor of dad, I want to borrow a phrase from his favorite saying, the Gettysburg Address. This serves as a challenge to all of us: "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work".

We know this one thing Dad; you will always be by our sides.

We now pray this other childhood prayer you and mother patiently taught us. "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep".

We know this with certainty; you are in the loving embrace of our Savior and Lord. His name was always on your lips and in your heart.

Gale is survived by his children: Jeff Holbrook, Rapid City and Deanna Mahaffy, of Sturgis and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Janice in 2012.