Elmer A. Bietz

Elmer Arthur Bietz was born on 4 May 1934 near Tripp, South Dakota, to Otto E. and Martha (Freitag) Bietz. His grandfather was G. C. Freitag. He was baptized and confirmed at the Dennewitz Church and attended Lake Region Country School through the eighth grade, then stayed home to help on the family farm.

On 7 March 1956 he left to serve in the United States Navy, where he obtained his GED and trained as an electrician. He received his honorable discharge in October 1957.

After the Navy, Bietz returned to the family farm near Tripp as the fourth generation to farm it, raising cattle and hogs. In 1974 he was selected as South Dakota's Master Commercial Pork Producer.

He served as a Republican member of the South Dakota Senate from 1983 to 1992, and also served on the State Board of Education. Locally he was a 4-H leader and served on the Tripp School Board, the board of directors of First State Bank, the Tripp Development Corporation and the Avera St. Benedict Hospital board. He championed renewable energy, including local wind farms, and served on the board responsible for developing and funding the first soybean processing plant in South Dakota.

On 26 February 1956 Bietz married Carol Mueller of Scotland, South Dakota. They raised five children: Cindy, Joan, Wayne, Todd and Linda. He was an active member of First American Lutheran Church in Tripp, serving on the church council, and a talented vocalist who sang at weddings and in the church's men's choir. He and Carol travelled to many parts of the United States, Hawaii and Europe, and visited Ukraine, the home of his ancestors.

Elmer Bietz died on Wednesday 7 October 2026, aged 92. No cause of death was made public. His obituary, published in the Yankton Press and Dakotan on 10 October 2026, announced visitation on 12 October and a funeral at 10:30 a.m. on 13 October 2026 at First American Lutheran Church in Tripp, followed by burial with military rites at Grace Hill Cemetery. He was survived by his wife of 70 years, Carol, their five children, 13 grandchildren, many great-grandchildren and two sisters.

His family described him as a man of vision, always looking to serve and make his community a better place, and said his dedicated service to his church and community was a great part of his legacy, carried on by his children and grandchildren. His decade in the state Senate, his work for renewable energy and soybean processing, and his long service on local boards marked him as one of the Tripp area's most committed public servants.