Obituary | DiAnn Aplan | Kesling Funeral Home

July 7, 1946 – May 28, 2025

Funeral service for DiAnn Aplan, 78, of Sturgis, will be at 10:30 am, Thursday, June 5, 2025 at Kesling Funeral Home in Mobridge, South Dakota. Burial will be at First United Methodist cemetery in McLaughlin, SD following a luncheon at Great Plains.

DiAnn Schott Aplan will be remembered for her vivid stories of rural life, quick-witted comments delivered with a twinkle in her eye, her amazing baking and cooking, and most of all, the kindness and love she gave to others. 

She passed away May 27, 2025 at the age of 78 at her home in Sturgis, South Dakota. 

Services will take place at 10:30 a.m. Central Time Thursday, June 5, at Kesling Funeral Home in Mobridge, South Dakota. A meal will follow at Great Plains Family Restaurant. Burial will follow at McLaughlin United Methodist Cemetery in McLaughlin, South Dakota.  

DiAnn was born on July 7, 1946 in McLaughlin, South Dakota, to Jacob and Lydia Schott. 

She grew up on her family’s homestead farm in McLaughlin, a place that was always home in her heart. She grew up caring for animals on the farm, and her favorite task was milking cows.  She was proud of her Black Sea German heritage. That history was one of the many pursuits of her bright and curious mind. 

 She was married for a time to James O. Aplan, and their son, Morgan, was born in 1976. 

DiAnn adapted successfully to various vocations – from work on the ranch and veterinary and medical facilities to homemaking, and from substitute teaching and saw mill work to assisting people with disabilities. She retired after many years as a cook at the Meade County Jail, known far and wide for superior jail cuisine. 

Her strong work ethic carried into her home life and hobbies, where she always stayed as busy as possible. She was skilled in hunting, fishing, and trapping, as well as home repair, furniture restoration, remodel, and yard & garden projects. 

Her gardens always featured beautiful roses and many other flowers. Her yards were the envy of any neighborhood where she lived.  

Her profound connection with the earth extended to fauna. As a child she raised an orphaned jackrabbit, and she later rescued orphaned deer fawns, befriended a porcupine, and housed bobcats, raccoons and a fox. Her pets included a tarantula, a chameleon and an albino Burmese python that grew so large and robust that it was promoted to live at a main display at Reptile Gardens. She counted her poodle, Pepper, her late working dog, Molly, late ranch horse Dolly, and late talking Senegal Parrot, Rusty, among her best friends. 

She became an excellent cook and baker in her youth helping to feed the large family and farm hands. This was much to the benefit of countless family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers throughout her life. She’d often bring neighbors her legendary chocolate chip cookies and pies. She’d show up with home-cooked meals when she knew it would help someone. She loved to cook for and with her loved ones. 

The cakes she baked and decorated for weddings and many other occasions were beautiful works of art that tasted as wonderful as they looked, especially her world-class carrot cake. 

People may have come for the food, but they stayed for the company. DiAnn’s sense of  humor, loyalty and ability to instantly relate was delightful and brought many great friends to bless her life. With a talent for storytelling, she’d relay tales – from farm mishaps to how she most recently pulled someone’s leg –  with all the suspense, action and hilarity of any scenario.

DiAnn is preceded in death by her parents, Jacob and Lydia Schott; brothers Arnold, Donald, Ruben, Russell and Reinhold Schott; sisters Eileen (Ruben) Finck and Gladys Schott; sister-in-law Susan Wallace; and niece Cammie Finck.

Survivors include her son, Morgan (Elysia) Aplan of Casper, WY; brothers Wallace and Jim (Priscilla) Schott of McLaughlin, SD; many nieces, nephews, cousins, stepchildren and more family members who meant the world to her and are so deserving to be mentioned if only space allowed. She also leaves behind many dear friends and neighbors. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in DiAnn’s name to the Sturgis Animal Shelter. 

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