Dawn Sackett

Dawn M. Sackett, age 51 of Sioux Falls, SD passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, after a sudden health event.
A Celebration of Life Open House will be on Saturday, May 3, at Overlook Caf in Falls Park from 1-4 p.m.. Memorials in Dawns honor will be put toward a bench in Falls Park and given to LSS Center for New Americans where she volunteered weekly. George Boom Funeral Home & On-Site Crematory in Sioux Falls have been entrusted with arrangements.
Dawn was a firecracker from day one, and there was no slowing her down everyone else just had to keep up. Born in Valley City, ND, while her parents attended college, she later lived in Forman, ND, and Brampton, ND where the first of several runaway adventures took place and her younger sister Hilary was born and then Brookings, SD.
Brookings remained home throughout her childhood, where she attended both grade school and high school. From the time she started playing T-ball and soccer, she loved sports. She was into gymnastics for several years, and in high school she found a love for volleyball and continued to play in leagues throughout her life until just a few years ago. After spending her first year of college at the University of Nebraska, where her dads cousin Becky who was a professor there became a special mentor, she returned to Brookings to continue her studies at SDSU, graduating in 1997. During college, she worked at Bozieds gas station near campus.
After earning her degree, Sioux Falls became home, where she built a career working for several companies, including Hansen Doherty, National Car Rental, Apex Medical, and JDS Trophies, before finding a great fit and long-term career at Missouri River Energy Services. Nearly ten years there brought not only meaningful work but also valued colleagues who became close friends.
For the past nine years, she dedicated herself to volunteering in Education Services at LSS Center for New Americans, co-teaching Advanced Citizenship classes on Saturday mornings and leading beginning language and literacy classes two evenings a week. That commitment was recognized when she was named South Dakota Adult Education Volunteer of the Year. In recent years, a passion for gardening emerged, with countless hours spent transforming her yard into an English garden a perfect reflection of her deep love for all things British.
Travel was another lifelong joy, with memorable trips to Germany in high school, as well as England, Ireland, and the Netherlands with her parents, and London and Scotland with several of her closest friends. Early retirement was on the horizon, with plans to explore even more destinations on her bucket list. Her love of history, art, culture, and languages led to ongoing learning, including studying French in recent years, and several other languages over her lifetime, including Chinese (which she deemed particularly difficult) and German. She was a devoted fan of British TV and quiz shows and especially enjoyed British comedians. Her eclectic music collection spanned Beethoven, jazz, Broadway, country, and rock though none compared to the Beatles.
Visiting the bands historic sites in London and Liverpool alongside her parents was a cherished memory, as was seeing Paul McCartney perform in Fargo with her mom and grandma.
Dawn was known as an exceptional gift-giver among family and friends, always finding the perfect card for every occasion or a gift you never knew you needed or wanted, but you loved it. The collection of thank-you notes she saved over the years was a testament to the thoughtfulness she shared with others. Her tight-knit circle of friends, considered family in every way, stood by her side in her final hours. Their hearts along with those of her family now carry an immeasurable loss. Dawn will be deeply missed.
Grateful for having shared her life are her parents, John and Tarra (Severson) Sackett, formerly of Brookings, SD; her sister, Hilary (Jeff) Wald; three nephews, Carter (Delaney) Wald, Dallas Wald, and Benjamin Wald; three nieces, Tierney Wald, Tallia Wald, and Keira Wald, all of Helena, MT; her grandmother, Clementine Severson of Milnor, ND; her aunt, Kathy Sackett of Hanford, CA; her uncles, Gary (Maelinda) Severson of Burghill, OH, Dewey (Joni) Severson of Lisbon, ND, and Claude (Jodi) Severson of Hankinson, ND; numerous cousins, other relatives, and many special friends.
Dawn was preceded in death by her grandparents, Donald and Marie (Faber) Sackett and Clayton Severson.