Myrtle J. Sterud, age 100, of Volga, died Saturday, October 15, 2016, at the Brookings Hospital with her daughter by her side. A celebration of Myrtle's life will be held 10:30 a.m. Thursday, October 20, 2016, at the Lake Campbell Lutheran Church of rural Volga. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Visitations will be from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at Eidsness Funeral Chapel in Volga.

Myrtle Jane (Thoms) Sterud was born May 29, 1916, at Kingsley, Iowa, to John and Myrtle (Bogardus) Thoms. At the age of 4 her family moved to a farm south of Bruce, South Dakota, in March 1920. They came up in a 1919 Model T Ford. She attended the Bruce School for two years, then at Renshaw 52. The family later moved to a farm north of White, South Dakota. She attended country school at Afton 11. She finished the eighth grade, and being one of the older children, stayed home to help her mother. Beginning in 1936 she worked for the C.A. Skinner family of Brookings for two years. She met Martin Sterud, and they were married on August 5, 1938. Martin and Myrtle welcomed Marlys (1944) and Merlin (1945) to their family. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August 1988; Martin passed away in September 1988. They lived and farmed south of Volga for 27 years, remodeled the Oslo 98 schoolhouse into a home and lived there for eleven years. In 1976 they moved into Volga, where Myrtle resided until her death.

Myrtle was a member of the Lake Campbell Lutheran Church and an active member of the Ladies Aid, along with helping sew quilts. She was a charter member of the Home Mixers Extension Club, Neighborhood Birthday Club, Knit and Stitch Sewing Club, and the Ravishing Rubies Red Hat Society. She seldom missed Pie Day with the ladies at the Valley Restaurant. She enjoyed embroidering quilt blocks, making lefse, brownies, and apple pie.

Survivors include her daughter, Marlys (Ray) Vander Wal, of Volga; sister, Marie (Elmer) Mannisto, of Volga; three grandsons: Greg (Sara) Sterud of Bend, Oregon, and their children Ryan, Anthony, Tyler, Joshua, Nathan, and Kyle; Bradley (Sara) Vander Wal and their children Shad, Cade, Marika, and Seth of Volga; and Phillip (Tara) Vander Wal and their children Kashas, Mercedees, Reihdir, and Porshia of Volga; granddaughter-in-law, Chris Vander Wal, and her children Dalton, Tessa, Ruby, and Jax of Marne, Iowa; eight great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Martin; parents; brother, John Albert Thoms; sisters: Agnes Holley, Florence Malone, Georgiaetta Derdall, and Mabel Yurgaitis; a son, Merlin Sterud in 1997; and a grandson, Brent Vander Wal in 2016. Grandma was loved and will be missed!