LaVerne J.(Korty) Kortan, beloved husband, father, and grandfather passed away at home on August 16, 2006, with his family at his side. Memorial services will be 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, August 22, 2006, at First United Methodist Church in Brookings, with interment at the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota. The family requests that memorials be directed to the SDSU athletic scholarship that has been established in honor of LaVerne and Loretta Kortan. Korty was born October 27, 1920 in Gregory, South Dakota, the son of Joseph and Winnie Mackrall Kortan. He was a farm boy from rural Gregory, South Dakota. He was a graduate of South Dakota State University with a B.S. in Animal Science in 1942 and a M.S. in 1955. He received a U.S. Army Commission at SDSU in 1942, entering the service as a Lieutenant in the Infantry. Korty was united in marriage to Loretta Wilburn on April 4, 1943. It was soon after that he transferred into the Air Corps Serving as a B-24 Bomber pilot serving over 56 missions in WW11. His awards included the Purple Heart, Air Medal, WW11 Victory Medal, American Theater Services Medal, European-Africa middle East Service Medal and the Armed forces reserve Medal. After the war, he served as an officer in the Air Corps Reserve and South Dakota National Guard. He was commander of the 139th Truck Transportation battalion in Brookings and retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He devoted his life to the field of Agriculture Education. He began his career with SDSU 1945 as a County Agent for Beadle and Hand counties. In 1952 he became an Extension Livestock Specialist at SDSU and served the state of South Dakota until retirement in 1983. Korty traveled throughout South Dakota working with livestock producers and the livestock industry. He was well known as a livestock judge throughout South Dakota and surrounding states as a respected authority in all areas of livestock production particularly with swine and sheep production. He received many distinguished service awards from livestock producer organizations and fellow colleagues. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for service to South Dakota from the SDSU alumni Association in 1986 Upon his retirement in 1983, he received his full Professorship Emeritus of Animal Science. In 2002, he was inducted into the 4-H Centennial Hall of Fame. Korty was past president of the South Dakota County Agents Association at SDSU. In 1996, he was president of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees in South Dakota. He was long time member and president of the Golden K Kwanis Club in Brookings. He enjoyed being an active member of the Masonic Lodge, El Riad Shrine, Elks Lodge, Hoffman-Townsend American Legion Post 74, George Dokken Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2118, National Guard Association, 376th Heavy Bomb Group and a member of South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame. He was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church in Brookings, South Dakota. Korty is survived by his wife, Loretta, daughters, Jan (Dick) Olson of Grand Forks, North Dakota, Kandace (Dave) Ellis of Edina, Minnesota, son Jim (Robyn) Kortan of Omaha, Nebraska, 6 grandchildren; Dane, Bret, Carrie, Derek, Christopher and Nathan; 2 great grandchildren; Lucie and Ryan; and one sister, Velma Lapour, of Gregory, South Dakota