Ted L. Weinrich, 64, of Brookings, SD, passed away Friday, May 6, 2022, at home surrounded by his loving family due to complications after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Funeral services have been set for 1 p.m. Friday, May 13, at GracePoint Wesleyan Church, Brookings, SD. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12,  at Rude’s Funeral Home, Brookings, SD. Rude’s Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements. Rude’s Funeral Home will livestream the funeral service on Rude’s Funeral Home Facebook page.
Ted Leon Weinrich was born Jan. 12, 1958, in Norfolk, NE, the son of Donald Peter and Helen Marie (Michaelsen) Weinrich. He grew up on a farm near Pierce, NE, attending country school, and graduated from Pierce High School in 1976. Immediately after, Ted enlisted in the United States Army, serving in Korea for a year and then returned to the United States and was stationed in Texas for three years, working as a medical lab technician. He was honorably discharged and returned to Pierce, NE. Ted attended Norfolk Community College, where he received his degree.
Ted was united in marriage to Lorie E. Amundson on Nov. 20, 1981, in Norfolk, NE. They made their home in Pierce before moving to Omaha, NE, where Ted worked at Burroughs before going to work at Appleton in Columbus, NE. Ted and Lorie moved to an acreage near Monroe, NE, where they realized their dream of being in the country watching their three children grow.
In April 1997, Ted was hired at Larson Manufacturing, which brought his family to Brookings, SD. He worked there for 24 years as the Director of MIS and supply chain pPlanning, and also serving on the senior management team.  He retired in November 2021.  After living in town for 11 years, Ted and Lorie were blessed to find an acreage south of Brookings where they built their dream home.  Ted spent many hours tending to the trees he planted and looking forward to the days he would spend in retirement watching them grow tall.  He loved working in his shed and caring for the land he felt blessed to have as his own.
In his free time, Ted enjoyed fishing and hunting.  He was a handyman who always had many different projects going at once.  Most of all, Ted loved his family and his friends.  There are countless people who would say they were thankful to have Ted in their lives, and his children would all argue that they had the best dad there could be.  
He was especially honored to be asked to officiate his youngest daughter’s wedding in September and took pride in having the wedding on the property he and Lorie owned.  He had a strong love for his wife Lorie, and they spent many date nights cooking good meals at home, playing the music loud, and dancing when the mood struck.
Ted was a member of the GracePoint Wesleyan Church where, in previous years, he taught Sunday School and led Bible studies. He also belonged to a men’s Sunday school class, which in the last months of his life, he was particularly grateful to be a part of.  Their many prayers and words of encouragement, along with so many other countless people, kept him going on many difficult days.  Ted was a strong man of faith, whose fight against cancer inspired many who knew him.
Ted is survived by his wife, Lorie Weinrich; his three children, Brianne (Adam) Dickson, Trevor (Tara) Weinrich, and Leanna (Mark) Himley; his grandchildren, Cole and Silas Weinrich, all of Brookings, SD; his brothers, Tom (Ruth) Weinrich, Tim (Brinda) Weinrich and Todd (Brandi) Weinrich, all of Pierce, NE, and his sister, Tad (Kevin) Bruening of Norfolk, NE; and many extended family members and friends.
Ted was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Helen.
Condolences may be sent to the family through www.rudesfuneralhome.com.