Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel
Arvis Raml, age 91, of Watertown, SD, passed away on Thursday, November 19, 2020, at the local hospital. A Funeral Mass will be at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, at Immaculate Conception Church in Watertown, SD. Fr. Richard Fox will be the celebrant. The service will be Facebook Live. Masks are recommended.
Visitation will be at the church on Wednesday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The family is requested to meet at the church by 10:30 a.m. for a prayer service. Burial will be St. Mary's Cemetery in Watertown, SD. Out of respect for the family, masks must be worn for the services.
Pallbearers will be Curt Underhill, Austin Brower, Billy Larson, Killian Larson, Nicholas Mack, and Virgil Mack. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters.
Arvis Virgil Raml was born on May 16, 1929 at Troy, SD to Killian and Emma (Jacobson) Raml. He graduated from Goodwin High School with the class of 1947. He enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Japan from 1951 to 1954. When he returned from service, he went to a dance one night and met the love of his life, Dorett Trenholm. They were married on June 8, 1954 in a double wedding with Dorett's sister and her husband, Marylis and Gilbert Walford. The couple made their home in Goodwin for a few months before moving to Watertown and making it their permanent home for the next 66 years.
He was employed by Coca Cola of Watertown, International Harvester, Schweiger's Inc., and PCA/Farm Credit Services all of Watertown. He then became owner/operator of the Pony Express mail truck with his son Tim, traveling each night to Willmar, MN. He also sold crop-hail insurance for various companies, still serving clients the past few years. Once he "retired", he and Dorett became maintenance workers for IC Parish. Never one to sit still, he also had various other part-time jobs such as driving bus, delivering flowers and driving cars for Watertown Ford.
Arvis was very involved in civic, community and church organizations. Those include being a Cub Master, serving on the school board, was an usher, greeter and eucharistic minister, as well as being Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee, and the Cemetery Chairman for over 30 years for IC Parish. He was also a past Chairman of the Watertown Farm Show Ag Committee, served on the Agri-Business advisory board at LATI, served on the St. Ann's Hospital Board, the Harmony Hill Board and was an Ambassador for the Watertown Chamber of Commerce. He and Dorett volunteered for the Yellow Rose Committee and at Prairie Lakes Hospital. He was a member of the American Legion Post #17 and the Magic Miles Lions Club. He was very active in the Knights of Columbus and was a proud 4th Degree Knight. He also helped with KC Bingo, the tootsie roll drive, chili and oyster feed and fish fry. He was very active in the Catholic Order of Foresters, serving in the role of Treasure for Court 403 and was also the SD State Chief Ranger. He received the Legion of Honor award from the Foresters and was still attending their monthly meetings.
On May 15, 2018, Arvis was honored to take part in the Midwest Honor Flight (for veterans) to see the monuments in Washington, DC. It was the best 89th birthday present ever! Along with his many activities he enjoyed bowling, singing and traveling with the St. Francis Men's Choir, traveling and taking bus tours with Dorett and friends.
Arvis is survived by his five children, Steve (Teri) Raml of Glendale, AZ, Cindy Underhill of Huron, SD, Tim (Cindy) Raml of Watertown, Jody (Gregg) Brower of Rapid City, SD and Nikki (Brent) Larson of Hayti, SD; nine grandchildren, Curt (Cheri Johnson) Underhill of Pierre, SD, Leah (Nate) Kreifels of Bellevue, NE, Jayme (Tyler) Vetch of Mitchell, SD, Austin Brower of Rapid City, SD, Katie Raml of Watertown, SD, Aireal (Austin) Bruns of Hayti, SD and Billy, Killian, and Artemus Larson of Hayti, SD; five great-grandchildren, Reese, Jaxton, Judson, Kai and Emytt. His brother, Dennis (Kathy) Raml of Watertown, SD; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife Dorett on July 23, 2020; two infant daughters, his parents, and his sister, Elmira Ruhr.
Arrangements by Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel www.crawfordosthus.com
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