Dale Albert Schlechter

Dale Schlechter passed away Sunday, March 2, 2025 at the Scotland Good Samaritan Center. He was 82 years old. 

Visitation will be held 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 8 at Scotland Community Church. A memorial service, with military honors, will begin at 11:00 a.m. A light lunch will be served following the service. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials will be accepted and designated to the VFW and Scotland Good Samaritan Center. 

A celebration of life will be announced at a later date, following Dale’s final ride in his beloved ’64 Chevy. 

Dale was born June 10, 1942 in Yankton, SD to Henry and Elsie (Grosshuesch) Schlechter and was the youngest of four. He attended Brown Country School rural Scotland and graduated from Scotland High School in 1960. Dale served in the US Army 1963-1965 was honorably discharged and came home to farm. Shortly after, he married his high school sweetheart Doreen Van Driel in 1967 and they shared 57 years. Together they raised four children on their farm just north of Scotland. Along with farming, he later drove truck for Fuerst Trucking.

Dale had many hobbies during his life. One of those was racing. Dale raced stock cars with his buddies on the dirt track west of Scotland during the early years. He has always been fond of fast cars and enjoyed NASCAR racing the rest of his life. Dale and Doreen were able to travel and enjoy many of those races in person with their racing friends. Annual deer hunting trips with the neighborhood buddies went on for many years. Dale was known to be quite the marksman with both gun and bow. Oh the stories that originated during those hunting trips. In later years, those hunting trips turned into fishing trips for walleye, “the only fish there is.” In fact, those “slimy Northerns” were never even allowed in his boat. 

Dale and Doreen retired from farm life in 2002 and moved into town. Dale picked up woodworking in his shop and many of his works are cherished by friends and family. That shop was also known as one of the original gathering spaces for the friends’ weekly socials, a tradition that remains today. 

Dale was proceeded in death by his parents, Henry and Elsie Schlechter and grandson, Jacob.

Dale is survived by his wife, Doreen (Van Driel) Schlechter; children, Steven (Tammy Jo) Schlechter of Bruce, SD, Kristin (Johnny) Houg of Garretson, SD, Jesse (Jenna) Schlechter of Lakefield, MN and Stacy Schlechter of Parkson, SD; grandchildren, Cody (Megan) Schlechter, Rowdy (Daniel) Warr, Trixie Jo (Erica) Schlechter, John Dale Houg, Molly Houg, Maverick Houg and Elizabeth Houg; great-grandchildren, Lettie Jo and Jerrimy Cody Schlechter.