George Buchenau, age 91 of Brookings, passed away on Thursday, December 14, 2023, at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls.  Memorial services will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Friday, December 22, 2023, at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings.

George W. Buchenau was born on May 23, 1932, in Amarillo, TX.  He was the son of Bernie and Mary (Townes) Buchenau.   He spent his elementary school years in Clovis, NM, Portales, NM and finally in Roswell, NM.  At the beginning of middle school, his father farmed his grandfather's farm near Kress, TX and they returned to Roswell where he finished high school in 1950.  In his sophomore year of high school, George was out for football and received a serious head injury, which was diagnosed as "having his bell rung", but most likely was a concussion, with effects on his behavior for at least several years.  He dropped football and concentrated on basketball and especially tennis, where he played on the varsity team.  Tennis remained his favorite sport until a back injury caused him to stop playing around 1974.

He continued his education at New Mexico State University and graduated with his BS in 1954.  He received his Master of Science degree from there in 1955 and then attended Iowa State University and received his PhD in 1960.  He later married Roma Johnson and had two sons.

During his career at South Dakota State University (1959-1994), he served as a major Professor of 8 MS and 2 PhD graduates in Plant Pathology, and he developed "On-Farm" wheat disease forecasting – spray advisory system that was made into a short movie in John Deere sponsored "Frontiers of Farming".  He published several scientific papers on wheat disease research, effects of chloride applications on wheat disease, and provided wheat disease data to SDSU spring and winter wheat breeding programs.

In 1972 George married Mardella Bebensee Harvey. They were members of First United Methodist Church.

He also enjoyed archery, golf, hunting, and fishing and was a member of Brookings Pitch Blenders Barbershop Chorus, a life-time member of the Brookings Elks, and a member of the American Phytopathology Society and S.D. Academy of Science.

George is survived by:

*Bernie (Margaret) Buchenau

*Kris (Doug) Rahm, Nicole Rahm, Julian Rahm, Preston Rahm, & Nathan (Ryan) Rahm

*Steve Harvey, Josh (Stephanie) Harvey, John (Molly) Harvey, Jace Fjeldheim, Gavin Harvey, & Jen Harvey

*Kevin (Dawn) Harvey, Lindsey Harvey, Lexi Norgaard, Fiona Norgaard, & Tara (Katie) Harvey

*William (Velvet) Buchenau, Shawn Buchenau, Dusty Buchenau, & Jessie Buchenau

*Sandra Buchenau, Haley Buchenau, Sienna Funches, & Hannah Buchenau & Jalen Tafoya

George was preceded in death by his wife Mardella Buchenau, his parents Bernie and Mary Buchenau and his son Robert Buchenau.

Memorials can be directed to Kris Rahm, 4904 S. Sweetbriar Dr., Sioux Falls, SD  57108.  These funds will be split between StoneyBrook Assisted Living in Brookings and the Dougherty House in Sioux Falls.