Kerry Joe Pogany, 77, of Rapid City passed away on Friday, May 12, 2023 at Monument Health in Rapid City.
Joe was born May 17, 1945 to Charles and Sylvia (Krumrei) Pogany, in Isabel. He helped his dad and uncle Harold at the West River Oil Company servicing patron’s vehicles.
Joe graduated from Isabel High School in 1963 and received his teaching certificate from Northern State University in Aberdeen in 1968. Later, he received his Master’s Degree from South Dakota State University. In Aberdeen, Joe met his first wife, Linda Hilzendeger, the mother of his three children: Michelle (Pogany) Small, Lisa Pogany, and Michael Pogany.
Joe began his teaching career in Rapid City in 1968 at West Junior High. He then moved to Stevens High School in Rapid City, where he spent the remainder of his career. Over 33 years, Joe taught a variety of mathematics courses including geometry and algebra. He was also an instructor at Black Hills State University at the Ellsworth Air Force Base campus.
May 17, 1945 – May 12, 2023
From his youth, Joe had a love for automobiles. In the 1970s to the 2000s, Joe pit crewed for Les Stadel. He, Les, John Howard, and others raced dirt stock cars all across the Midwest, garnering hundreds of victories.
Joe loved the outdoors, camping with his family, friends, and fellow school teachers in Custer State Park and the Bighorns in Wyoming. He was an avid golfer and loved catching fish through the ice at Deerfield Reservoir, and occasionally, in his hometown at Lake Isabel.
Joe’s wife Linda passed away in 1993. He later met Sharron Bramblee and they married in 1998. Joe and Sharron would spend nearly 30 years together, enjoying life camping and traveling to various places in the United States.
In later years Joe struggled with physical ailments. He had throat cancer which he battled with Sharron by his side. Sharron was a Godsend, a Registered Nurse and Physician’s Assistant, who gave him the love and care he needed to beat cancer. Cancer had taken a toll on Joe’s body and he ultimately succumbed to the chronic impacts of the disease.
Joe is survived by his wife, Sharron Bramblee Pogany of Rapid City; his stepson David (Karen) Bramblee of Williston, ND; brother Dwight (Lorie) Pogany of Pierre; and his children: Michelle (Michael) Small of Fort Worth, TX, Lisa Pogany, and Michael (Alyssa) Pogany, both of Rapid City; two grandchildren, Eathan (Ashley) and Jarred Small, and two great-grandchildren Anne-Marie and Ricky Small.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his infant sister, Mary, and his first wife Linda.