Obituary of Laddie R. Kostel

KOSTEL LADDIE

Laddie Raymond Kostel, 80, of Surprise, Arizona. died Sunday, June 23, 2024 after a year-long battle with stomach and esophageal cancer where he had been treated at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Sun City AZ.  Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, July 6, 2024 at 11:00 AM at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Yankton, South Dakota.  Burial is in St. Wenceslaus Cemetery, Tabor.  Visitation is from 5:00-8:00 PM with a rosary at 6:30 followed by a prayer service at 7:00 PM at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home in Yankton.  Online condolences may be sent at: www.opsahl-kostelfuneralhome.com.  Live streaming can be found at:  https://server.attend.live/static/event/kRowE.

Laddie was born September 12, 1943 in Yankton to Laddie and Agnes (Petrik) Kostel.  He graduated from Tabor High school in 1961 where he was on the football, basketball and track teams.  He attended the University of South Dakota, the University of Minnesota, and graduated in 1965 from Wisconsin Institute of Mortuary Science in Milwaukee.  After graduation, he worked at the Donohue Mortuary in Iowa City, Iowa.  He married Pamela Robison on October 21, 1967 in Iowa City (on a Saturday that the Hawkeyes did not have a home football game).   

After five years of working for Walter Donohue, he joined his brother, David, and Lyle McLeod in Yankton at Kostel-McLeod Funeral Home in the summer of 1970.  Years later his partners left, Laddie became the sole owner, and the name was changed to Kostel Funeral Home with facilities in Yankton, Tabor and Menno.  In 1998, Laddie sold the Kostel Funeral Home to Kevin Opsahl and he and Pam retired to their home in Surprise AZ.

Laddie was a City Commissioner 1976-1979 and Mayor of Yankton 1977-78, was recognized by Outstanding Men of America in 1978, served on the Board of Mount Marty College 1983-88 and was Chairman of the Board 1986-88, belonged to the Jaycees in the early 70’s and was awarded the Jaycees Outstanding Young Religious Leader award, served on the Red Cross Board, belonged to Sertoma and the Rotary Club.  He was on the Order of Golden Rule Board 1993-1999, the Hillcrest Board of Directors 1995-98 and served as president in 1997, and President of the SD Funeral Directors Association 1984-1986.  Governor Walter Miller appointed Laddie to the Board of Funeral Service 1993-1998 and he received the Department of South Dakota Community Service Award in 1987.  He was honored as South Dakota Funeral Director of the Year by the Lions Eye Bank in 1992 and 1994.

Laddie representing Kostel Funeral Home was the first-place winner of the “Pursuit of Excellence” Award at the National Funeral Directors Association in Orlando, Florida in 1986.

In 1986, Laddie in conjunction with Bob Luken pooled their resources to come up with a memorial honoring all veterans that was dedicated at Riverboat Days because it was not ready by Memorial Day then placed in Sacred Heart Cemetery as a permanent tribute to our veterans. 

In 1997 and 1998 he went on a surgical and educational trip to Tanzania with Dr. Steve Meyer and a team from Sioux City, Iowa.  In preparation for the trip, he spent three months at Sacred Heart Hospital training to be a surgical assistant for Dr. Meyer who is an orthopedic surgeon.  He had some surgical background from his work in eye enucleations.  He had been trained to do eye enucleations at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics while living in Iowa City.

He was able to accompany his father to the Czech Republic in 1996 and 1998 where he visited the birth places of his great grandparents and met a cousin Jana and Laddie Rezac in Prague.

In 2003 Laddie built eight stained glass windows for St. John the Baptist Church in Tabor which had been relocated from the Zizkov township to the Anton Vancura Memorial Park where it was restored.  It had been used as a granary on the Mudloff farm west of Tabor for many years. It was the first Czech Catholic Church in Dakota Territory.  For many years, he sang in the choir for the Polka Mass at Czech Days. On occasion, he sang the Queen’s song at the coronation ceremony for Czech Days and the Czech National Anthem.  He was a lifetime member of the Czech Heritage Preservation Society

He was a member of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Grand Singers, OLOL church choir, ROMEO Club, Fast Glass Corvette Club, and Knights of Columbus.  For several years he did make-up for the Drama Club at Sun City Grand. In April 2012 he was in the musical Kiss Me Kate presented by the Drama Club and played the part of a priest. 

He was preceded in death by his parents Laddie and Agnes Kostel, his sister-in-law Susie Kostel and his brother-in-law David Pibal. 

He is survived by his wife, Pamela Kostel of Surprise AZ, two children, Jennifer (Jason) Cool, Phoenix AZ and Kristin (Dan) Grover, Phoenix AZ, five grandchildren (Grady Cool, Noah Grover, Sam Cool, Colton Grover, and Haley Grover) and siblings David (Lois) Kostel, Safety Harbor, Florida, Anne (Gene) Schiferl, Longmont CO, Marie Pibal, Ankeny Iowa, Susan (Bill) Showers, Tabor SD, many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Besides his family and friends, the things that brought him the most joy in life were golf, his backyard pool, and his Corvette. 

Online condolences may be left at okfhc.com