Earl Matthew Pomrenke, age 88, of Brookings and formerly of White, SD, passed away on Monday, November 7, 2022, at The Neighborhoods at Brookview. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 A.M. on Friday, November 11, 2022, at St. Paul's Catholic Church in White, with burial to follow at Fairview Cemetery in White. Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 P.M. on Thursday, November 10, at Eidsness Funeral Chapel in White with a Liturgical Wake Service at 7:00 P.M.

Earl was born in Ashton, IA, to Fred and Alma (Poss) Pomrenke. He moved to South Dakota when he was 14 years old to live with his Grandmother Poss, and to help her out on the farm. In 1953 Earl married Donna Lambertus and together they moved to a farm east of White. After Donna's passing, he married Pricilla Sheild on June 6, 1964.

In 1979, Earl and Pricilla built a home in White and sold the farm east of White to Kent and Molly Lachman. The Lachmans very quickly became family and their children, Erin and Tony, spent many hours with Earl and Pricilla. Earl and Kent worked together, custom farming, until Earl's retirement in 1993.

In 1995 Earl married Phyllus Domer. They enjoyed retirement together, spending several of their winters in Arizona with Earl's son Melvin.

Holding much pride for the community of White, Earl spent over 10 years on the Deubrook School Board, serving as president for several of those years. Seeing a need to serve students in a new way, he helped establish East Central Multi District in Brookings, SD, also serving on that board for several years. Earl was on the White Town Board, was elected mayor for two terms, and served on the Board of Directors developing the White Nursing Home.

Earl was a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church in White where he received all of the Sacraments except the Sacrament of Baptism.

His entire life, Earl was a collector. He collected coins and license plates. In his later years he would give silver dollars to children and grandchildren for their birthdays in hopes of persuading someone to carry on his passion. He was a member of the SD License Plate Club and over the years his collection grew to about 1500 license plates. He displayed these plates on the wall of his garage on the farm, and later in White, he had a license plate for every year from the early 1900's to the current year. His collection included plates from South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa.

Earl loved to dance and spend time with friends. A Friday night tradition included supper with Hilman and Alta Hanson. While owning a cabin on Lake Hendricks, Don and Marge Hoffman became companions and life-long friends.

Earl is survived by his children, Melvin of Glendale, AZ, Myron (Teresa) of White, SD, Marlyn (Anna) of Belle Fourche, SD, and Vicki (Scott) Whitehead of Brookings, SD; his grandchildren, Brandon, Shayne, Aaron, Bryce, Braydn, Seth, Elijah, Alanah, and Kelly Pomrenke, and Amber and Nichole Whitehead; great-grandchildren, Hank, Owen, Jayda, Eliza and Kiara; sister, Audrey (Ed) Braaten of Downers Grove, IL. He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Kelly; daughter, Patricia; wives, Donna who died in 1962, Pricilla who died in 1994, and Phyllus who died in 2017.