Paulette’s visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, July 12, at the Bethesda Church, with a Celebration of Life Service to begin at 7 p.m. Friday night. The service will be livestreamed. Burial will be at the Bethel Cemetery at a later date.

HURON — Paulette Weidner, age 77, of Huron, joined her Lord and Savior on Friday, July 5, 2024, at her home, surrounded by family.

Paulette was the last child born to Paul and Dorothy Hofer, on July 24, 1946, in Huron, South Dakota. Her mom was so happy to have another daughter. At the time of her birth, nobody could have guessed that her future husband would be living just down the street from her in Yale. She attended K-10th grade at Yale, until the school closed, and she finished her high school education at James Valley Christian School.

The next fall, she enrolled at Northwest College of Commerce in Huron. She graduated with her diploma in stenography on Aug. 3, 1965. On August 12, 1965, she married the love of her life, Ronald Gene Weidner. They were married 58 years.

Soon after marriage, Ron started teaching in Iowa, and Paulette obtained a job as a secretary for the High School Principal which she enjoyed very much, especially interacting with all the students. Years later, she accepted a job as a receptionist for a local eye doctor, and soon they all became very good friends.

They spent many evenings together enjoying food and fellowship.
One night at home Paulette fell ill, and a local doctor made a house visit to treat her. Paulette and Ron made an instant connection with him, and soon met the doctor’s wife, and became the greatest of friends. Dr. Charles and Virginia Haam were Ron and Paulette’s best friends and would later deliver their son, Tracy Paul in 1968, and daughter, Lea Marie in 1971. To this day they are still in touch with the four Haam children who are like family.

In 1973, Ron and Paulette and family moved back to the family farm near Yale. Paulette became very involved in the farm life, especially working with the pigs. As the pig operation grew, so did Paulette’s involvement in raising them. She didn’t hesitate to squeegee the pit. Nothing was too much for her to do at the farm. The men at Armour’s would marvel at her ability to handle a fifth-wheel trailer and back up like a pro. When she wasn’t busy raising her two children, she could be found taking care of 40 pigs and 50 baby calves. She was also reliable to help anywhere needed in the field including digging, swathing alfalfa, combining, driving grain carts, applying chemicals for neighbors, and at the end of the day making a full course meal for her family.

Another love and passion Paulette had was planting flowers and mowing the lawn. She was amazing at landscaping and making the front patio a gorgeous work of art. She was never too tired to hop on the mower or pull weeds and water her flowers. Being outside in her lawn and flowers made her happy, and always had a smile on her face.

She also had a wonderful gift of decorating. She enjoyed Christmas time so much, and would decorate a tree in each room to match the color scheme of the room. She was an amazing cook, and an even better baker. Homemade caramel rolls and German chocolate cake were her specialties. She would always make a triple batch of frosting and set some aside for herself.

Even then, there was never enough frosting for her, which brought her family many laughs.

The busy life of the Weidners came to a halt in 1991, that caused life changing ways they could have never imagined. The discovery of cancer in Paulette’s right ear continued to grow after two attempts to remove it. Doctors decided the cancer was growing into her mastoid bone and needed removal. After a 12-hour surgery, the doctors were confident the tumor was completely removed. Days later, Paulette realized the surgery created something far much worse than the cancer could have ever caused by cutting a nerve and leaving her with constant pain and ringing in her ear. After being seen by many specialists, it was determined that the nerves in the ear area had been destroyed during the surgery, and left this area unrepairable. The doctors told Paulette and her family that this is the most painful area for nerve damage that a human can have. Paulette suffered with constant pain until her passing.

In 1994, Paulette and Ron decided to retire from their farming operation and moved to Huron. While Ron continued to sell insurance, Paulette needed something to do. She worked part time at the Barn Restaurant where she loved serving and meeting people in the community. Later she started doing daycare and ran a full-time business for many years. She loved all the kids so much, but was slightly partial to all the newborn babies.

In 2019, Paulette’s memory loss started to increase. She was then diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, late-stage dementia, and breast cancer. Ron was able to care for Paulette, until she required round the clock care. In 2021, Paulette moved to a nursing home.

In 2024, her family found Maria, a full-time caregiver and a blessing from God, so Paulette could be home with her family.

Grateful for having shared in her life are her husband, Ronald; her son, Tracy (Sandy) Weidner; her daughter, Lea (Keith) Ulvestad; four grandchildren, Andrew Blake (Tara) Ulvestad, Anna Marie Ulvestad, Ava Rose Ulvestad and Gracie Joy Weidner; and three beloved great-grandchildren, Bentley, Beckett and Theo Ulvestad.

Paulette is also survived by her brother, Raymond (Shirley) Hofer; her brother-in-law, Quentin (Barb) Weidner; her sister-in-law, Deanna (Jerry) Bowes; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her mother; her father; her sister, LaDonna Weidner; one brother-in-law, Larry Weidner, and her mother-in-law, Edna (Hofer) Weidner Davis.

Paulette’s visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, July 12, at the Bethesda Church, with a Celebration of Life Service to begin at 7 p.m. Friday night. The service will be livestreamed. Burial will be at the Bethel Cemetery at a later date.

The family prefers memorials directed toward Plus One Guidance Center and Hope House.

Visit www.kuhlerfuneralhome.com.