August 5, 1932 – November 4, 2024
Memorial service for Ronald Unterseher, 92, of Mobridge, SD will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, July 5, 2025, at the Kesling Funeral Home Chapel. Ronald died on Monday, November 4, 2024, at St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck.
Ron Unterseher, longtime Mobridge resident, civic booster and business owner passed away November 4, 2024. He was 92.
Ronald Wayne Unterseher, son of David E. Unterseher and Alvera (Babe) Fenske Unterseher was born on Aug 5, 1932, in Glad Valley, SD. His early years, including grade school, were spent in and around Isabel, SD. His father supported the family through farming, ranching and trucking. Ron’s upbringing in the Great Depression was evident throughout his life, as he had a penchant for saving objects, be they large or be they small, of questionable value!
In 1946, he started high school at Plainview Academy in Redfield SD, a Seventh-Day Adventist boarding school. During that time, his parents moved their growing trucking business to Mobridge, where Ron developed many friends during his time-off from school.
After high school, Ron attended Union College in Lincoln, NE until being drafted by the US Army to serve in the Korean Conflict. From 1953 thru 1955, he served as a medic at a field hospital in Germany. While waiting for his unit to be deployed to Korea, he was appointed as head of the motor pool, even though he was a private. With access to vehicles, he explored Germany and the surrounding area until returning to Mobridge. His unit having never saw Korea.
After being discharged from the army, he joined his father Dave in the family trucking business in Mobridge. In 1958 he met Sheila Englerth. Two years later, they married on October 28, 1960, in Mobridge, then moved to St. Louis, where Ron attended diesel mechanic’s school. In 1962, the couple returned to Mobridge where Ron established Central Diesel Sales and Service. His first shop was a small, single stall building in south Mobridge. Quickly outgrowing that building, he built a new shop on east Hiway 12 and expanded it several times until retiring in 2012, at the age of 80.
Ron cared deeply about Mobridge and was involved in many community activities. He served on the City Council for 9 years; was a member of the Rotary Club and donated his time, talent and money to build Centennial Plaza on Main Street to honor his parents and celebrate the Mobridge centennial.
Ron was a dedicated Christian who served as an elder in the Mobridge Seventh-Day Adventist church until its demise.
Ron was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters Luella Shasky (Bill) and Pearl Mack (Don)
Surviving him are his wife, Sheila, sons Thomas (Heather) and John. His grandchildren include Jackson, Connor, Grantland, Ian and Genevieve.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifs be directed to the A.H. Brown Library Foundation, Kiein Museum or the Mobridge Fire Dept.
To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Ronald Unterseher, please click here to visit our sympathy store.
