RAPID CITY- Robert S. Fodness, 94, died Tuesday, October 6, 2020.

He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on November 4, 1925. He grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota and graduated from Tracy High School. He served in the US Navy during World War II. He earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at South Dakota State College in December of 1947.

Bob married Grace Lenards in Kranzburg, SD on May 4, 1957.

He was a Registered Professional Engineer and Land Surveyor and was engaged in consulting engineering for many years principally in construction of rural electrical and telephone systems. He joined the United States Bureau of Reclamation, Parker Davis Project, Phoenix, Arizona as an electrical engineer in the Federal Power System in 1963. He transferred to the Missouri-Oahe Project Office in Huron, SD in 1973 where he served as Chief Power Division and later as Huron District Manager when the Bureau of Reclamation Electrical Power System was transferred to the Department of Energy.

Bob spent many hours in volunteer work for the South Canyon Lutheran Church and Lutheran Brotherhood. He did income tax assistance for the elderly in the AARP program for eight years and served as a Volunteer Deputy Sheriff in Pennington County for eight years. He worked in the home construction program for Habitat for Humanity for many years. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion.

He will be remembered for being a family man who always put his family first above all things.

He was preceded in death by his parents: Otto and Freda Fodness and his sons: Bruce and Philip Fodness.

He is survived by his wife, Grace, Rapid City; daughter, Sharon Fodness and her husband Ed Malin; sons: Keith, Dale and Eric; daughters in law, Peggy Fodness and Ruth Wochnick Fodness; grandchildren: Alex Fodness; Grant Fodness; Shane Fodness; Erin Fineberg  and her husband Jason Fineberg; and Elise Spratlen and her husband Aaron Spratlen; great grandchildren: Aria, Coleman, and Kace Fineberg; and Justin and Audrey Spratlen.

Services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2020 at South Canyon Lutheran Church with visitation one hour prior to services.

Burial will be at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis.