A memorial graveside service for Edith Drey will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday, February 12, 2026, at Graceland Cemetery in Burke, SD, with Fr. Ron Garry officiating. Interment will take place at the same location. Clausen Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Edith Licina Drey was born in Mission, SD, on December 12, 1932, to Charles and Olive (James) Rang. She was baptized in the Catholic Church at St. Francis, SD. She was joined by one brother and two sisters. In 1937, Charles and Olive purchased a farm at Burke, SD, and moved the family there. Edith made her first communion and was confirmed in the Catholic Church in Burke. She attended the McCumber Country School, walking 2½ miles each way.
Edith was an all-around farm girl. There were chores to do before and after school, and the summers were spent stacking hay. She also had a team of mules that she used to rake hay.
In 1954, she met Gerald Drey, and the two were married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Burke. They moved to a farm south of Burke where they started their family of Bruce, Jackie, and Rodney. They farmed until 1964, at which time they moved in to Burke. She had many jobs, ultimately retiring from the school as a custodian. After Gerald’s death, Edith remained in the house.
She died January 31, 2026, at the Avera Gregory Healthcare Center in Gregory, SD, at the age of 93.
Edith is survived by her children: Bruce, Jackie, and Rodney; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson; and several nieces and nephews.
Edith was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Gerald; her brothers Charles, Louis, and Kenneth; sisters Esther and Eunice; brothers-in-law Lyle, Marvin, and Vernon; sisters-in-law Vivian and Lynn and a nephew, David Liebel.
