December 19, 1944 – February 8, 2021
Mass of Christian Burial for Delano Eugene Claymore, 76, of Aberdeen will be Friday, April 9, 2021 15 at 10 a.m. at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Ft. Yates, ND. Burial will be at 3 p.m. in the North Dakota State Veteran’s Cemetery in Mandan, ND under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Masks will be required for the service and lunch.
Delano passed away Monday, February 8, 2021, at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen.
Delano Eugene (Del Gene) Claymore was born December 19, 1944 to Sidney Charles and Doris D. (LeCompte) Claymore in Fort Yates. He graduated as valedictorian in 1962. He continued his education at Bottineau School of Forestry in Bottineau, ND for two years and then transferred to Utah State University, Logan, UT, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Range Management in 1966. After graduating he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Washington, DC. He was honorably discharged in June of 1968.
He was a proud member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
After his Army service, he returned to Fort Yates and worked for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for a short time, then accepted a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Aberdeen. He transferred to Albuquerque, NM continuing his employment with the BIA. He transferred to Denver, CO working for the Bureau of Reclamation as the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer. When Reclamation closed its office in Denver, he transferred to the BIA in Aberdeen accepting the position of Human Resource Officer.
He retired in September 1995 after 28 years of federal service.
While he was in Aberdeen he met his fiancé, Bille Black. They celebrated their 33rd anniversary on December 31, 2020. Bille was Del’s primary caregiver after his cancer diagnosis in the fall of 2019. Del Gene developed a very close relationship with Bille’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Bille and Del Gene traveled extensively. They visited Europe twice and many places in the U.S..
He looked forward to the spring and summer months when he could go home to Fort Yates to spend a few days to control the prairie dog population. He became an active member in the “Cowboy Fast Draw Association” and placed third in their world competition in Deadwood.
He was elated when he was advised that the cancer spread was under control. He was walking, driving, and looking forward to his next trip to Montana. Then he was diagnosed with the COVID, was immediately hospitalized and exactly one week later he succumbed to the virus on February 8.
Del Gene is survived by his mother and step-father, Doris and Charles Soiseth; brother Scott Jacobson; fiancé Bille Black and family; maternal aunt Victoria Putnam and family; paternal uncle Delano LeCompte and family; Gwen (Gordon) Valandra’s surviving children; brother-in law Leroy DuBray; sister-in law Charlene Claymore; daughter Lori Martin; nieces and nephews; and many cousins.
He was preceded in death by his father, Sidney Charles Claymore; paternal grandparents, Peter S. and Mary B. (Bear King) Claymore; maternal grandparents, Obede and Cecilia (Skinner) LeCompte; sister Linda DuBray, brothers Richard Lee, Claymore, Sidney Carl Claymore, Kenneth Charles Claymore and Brent James Claymore; aunts, uncles, and cousins.