Eminent Homemaker
County: Brule
Delonde Healy, Pukwana, homemaker who has been involved in Extension programs for nearly 50 years, was honored in 1975 as Eminent Homemaker by the South Dakota Board of Regents and South Dakota State University.
In 1926 she was a 4-H’er herself and won a purple ribbon for her version of a bound buttonhole. 49 years later she served as “dorm mother” for over 1,000 4-H’ers at the State Fair.
During those years, Healy, her husband Emmett and their five children were a “4-H Family.” And even though the family was involved as a unit, both she and her husband also served as club leaders and as all-around general supporters of the program, filling in however and whenever they were needed.
Her involvement in community events includes many more activities. She has been a member of the Brule County Extension board for 20 years, served on the State Extension Advisory Committee and, with her husband, worked with SDSU’s Parent’s Council. She also has been active in an Extension Club for over 25 years and has been deeply involved in her church’s altar society for almost 40 years.
Although she is now a widow and her children have homes of their own, she continues her active pace. She keeps her suitcase half-packed so she’s ready when the phone rings and she’s asked to live-in and care for youngsters or elderly citizens.
Her Extension agent summed up Healy in these words: “She is community-minded, youth-minded and people-oriented. Her greatest joy is in helping other people by giving of herself and her time. She is a homemaker we could be proud to have as an example to others.”