Jane Winckler

Jane Ann Winckler, 83, of Tyndall, SD passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Goglin Funeral Home in Tyndall on Saturday, September 25.

Jane Winckler was born September 16, 1937 to Steven and Elizabeth (Tischler) Weiss in Parkston, SD. She graduated from Parkston High School and worked at the Parkston Creamery as a young woman. Jane married Mel Winckler, and they made their home in Tyndall, SD, where they raised their daughter, Laurie. Her love and talent for sewing shone through in her work at Mel’s Body Shop, where she helped to restore antique/vintage cars. She also worked at the Tyndall Good Samaritan Home.

Jane was known to be full of life and laughter, spreading happiness wherever she went. She danced the polka every chance she got, including at the many polka festivals she attended as well as family get-togethers. She enjoyed attending car races and air shows with Mel, and, though she never learned to drive a car, she did learn to fly and land her and Mel’s 170 Cessna airplane. She could often be seen riding around town on her blue “Pabst-Powered” bicycle, and one of her fondest memories was her balloon ride over Tyndall. Jane fancied herself a lucky person (if she didn’t win a raffle, then she knew it must have been rigged), though it seemed she delighted in the social aspects of her gambles more than her winnings. But it was truly her friends and family who won the lottery, in that they got to know and love this selfless, joyful, loving woman.

Jane is survived by her daughter Laurie and her husband Todd Luke of Avon, SD; grandchildren Toni (Matthew) Grant of Avon, SD and Wyatt (Cassandra) Luke of Harrisburg, SD; great-grandchildren Analiese (Graham) Garbison, Ellanore and Shaeleigh Grant, and Keegan and Asher Luke; sisters-in-law Hilda Tycz and Francis Winckler; brothers-in-law Art Winckler and Bernard “Gus” Pletka; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and their families.

She was preceded in death by her husband Mel; parents Steven and Elizabeth Weiss; mother- and father-in-law Otto and Emma (Hahn) Winckler; brothers Clarence, Frank, and Francis Weiss; sisters Regina Vetter, Marie Hohn, and Lorraine Griffin; and beloved brothers- and sisters-in-law, nephews, and nieces.