CAROL DRAPEAUX
Carol Jeanne Drapeaux, 92, of Lake Andes died Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at the Lake Andes Senior Living Center in Lake Andes. Wake services were held at the White Swan Community Center in Lake Andes. On Saturday, October 3, 2020, a meal was served followed by her funeral services at the White Swan Community Center. Burial was in the Greenwood Presbyterian Cemetery in Greenwood. Peters Funeral Home in Wagner was in charge of arrangements.
Born and bred on the Plains of South Dakota, Carol Jeanne (Ballou) Drapeaux lived out her vital 92 years on the prairie.
She was born December 20, 1927 in Redfield, South Dakota to Jeanne Hurrell (from Glasgow, Scotland) and Joseph Ballou from Iowa and was the 4th of 5 siblings. She died Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at the Lake Andes Senior Living Center in Lake Andes.
Her youngest brother Frank was her best friend. During her elementary years, he pulled her around in their wagon picking plums off the trees and filling her bucket…plum full. Carol was also known as the “Plum Queen.” We used to ask her, why did you make your baby brother pull you around in that wagon? She would just laugh and say… he loved it! He knew who was the boss. He was as funny as she was and they remained best friends until he died.
She was a true South Dakota girl who spent the first 18 years attending Winner elementary and high school and graduated with honors. Some might have called her one of the smartest gals in town. With her quick wit, sharp tongue and great desire to make you laugh, she was the life of the party any time. She was one of those people that when you met her, you were probably going to be friends with her….forever. Carol had life long friends who adored her and her ability to make lemonade out of lemons. She was a talker, a laugher and a storyteller so much so that her mother used to say, “Carol, give your face a rest!” Which later translated to all her children: "Give your face a rest!” She could always find humor and kindness in tragedy. She understood the basic nature of human beings and their flaws. She guided us without imposing her beliefs, she nurtured without smothering us, she loved us exactly the way we were and gave us support without meddling in our affairs.
She could be found often with her a captivating novel or one of Agatha Christies mysteries in her hand. She was an avid reader and one could find several books sitting beside her table read or just begun and could talk effortlessly about any topic from around the globe. She had an extraordinary vocabulary and would work on her weekly puzzles in ink, which included the New York Times. She always had the million-dollar word on the scrabble board and would say to us, “look that up in your lexicon.” We inherited her love of language and storytelling. She was protective but not overly so, she encouraged us to go out in the world and do well, but her mission in life was to have a big family and be a good parent. She did both.
She belonged to the Jr. Catholic Daughters and taught Catechism in the evenings. The high school girls in her class adored her and wanted her for their mother but we refused to let her go. She was cool and funny and a great teacher. She volunteered for community activities, performed in the community theater in Winner and supported the local little league baseball teams and boxing teams. She was a woman of great imagination and was a deep thinker. She modeled a hard working mother dedicated to her family and friends with a very clear moral code. “Treat others the way you would like to be treated.”
In 1946 she married George Schaeffer Drapeaux, who preceded her in death, a wild and wooly Yankton Sioux tribal member with a zillion relatives. She said the first time he took her back to the reservation she couldn’t believe that everyone was related. There weren’t very many white women married to Indian men during her young life and she felt the complicated reactions from both races. But for her, she just made the best of the situation and lived her life as she wanted. She was always a trailblazer. They lived together for over 60 years and had 7 children, 15 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, plus so many extended relatives.
We are comforted by the idea that over mortality we are powerless but in the acceptance of it we somehow have infinite power. Rest easy dear Carol—you lived an enormous life and made a big difference in the lives of so many.
Thankful for having shared her life with George S Drapeaux (deceased 2008); 7 children: Daniel L. & (Jane) Drapeaux of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and their children: Jennifer Bartlett & (Jedidah Bartlett) and Bruce Drapeaux; George & (Rosemary) Drapeaux of Yankton and their children: George M. Jr., Bradley, Christine, Justin and Richard Drapeaux; Roger & (Heather) Drapeaux of Juneau, Alaska and their children: Jeannie & (Joel Wolfe) and Kyle Drapeaux & (Maggie Drapeaux) Suzanne Blue Star Boy of Washington, DC & (Molly Smith); Monica Drapeaux of Lake Andes, SD; Brian Sr. & (Casey) Drapeaux of Arizona and their children: Brian Jr., Bryce & (DeShayla) Drapeaux and Jordan Drapeaux; Jason Drapeaux of Lake Andes and his children, Jason Jr, Haley and Wakinyan Drapeaux; 15 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren and many relatives and friends.
Pallbearers: Jason Drapeaux Jr., Bryce Drapeaux, Gavin Myers, Justin Drapeaux, Bruce Drapeaux, Brian Drapeaux Jr., Joe McBride, AJ Drapeau
Honorary Pallbearers: Staff & Administration of Lake Andes Senior Living Center