Dwayne C. Vig of Mud Butte, SD passed away on April 28, 2025.
Visitation will be on Thursday, May 8, 2025, 4:30 pm at the Faith Church of Christ.
His funeral service will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025, 1:30 pm at the Faith Community Center with burial at the Opal Cemetery at 3:30 pm.
There will be a community supper following the burial at the Opal Fire Hall. Full obituary to follow at a later date.
Dwayne Clair Vig, age 83, went home to be with Jesus on Monday, April 28th. Dwayne was born in Rapid City, SD on September 17, 1941 into the Cecil & Edith Vig family as the youngest child. Dwayne joined Faith, Merle, Hope, and Rose. He grew up on Horse Creek in central Meade County, God’s Country. Being the youngest, stories were told how he enjoyed being a prankster. One such story included terrorizing his sister, Rosie, as she gathered eggs out of the chicken coop in the evenings.
He attended Vig School and Tama School where through the years, both his mother and his oldest sister were his teachers. Dwayne attended high school in Sturgis and stayed with his Grandma Vig. He talked about being on the first Sturgis Wrestling team. He graduated from Sturgis High School in May of 1959 and immediately joined the US Navy. Dwayne wanted to see some of the big world and knew the US Navy would provide that opportunity. While being stationed in San Diego, serving in the Submarine Service, Dwayne signed up for private flying lessons. He became a private pilot independently of the service, and after serving 3 years in the Navy came home to South Dakota to start college at South Dakota State University. He became an Animal Scientist because he knew the Airline wouldn’t let a pilot become a captain unless they had that 4-year degree piece of paper.
While attending SDSU, Dwayne was involved with the Rodeo Team and became quite the rodeo photographer. He also used his flying experience to teach others to fly as a way to help pay for his college. Dwayne’s many years as a flight instructor had just begun. The highlight of Dwayne’s college career was meeting his sweetheart, Zona Scott. She was the English major that ran some barrels and could write a polished essay.
Dwayne & Zona married on August 17, 1968. They both graduated from SDSU in 1969 and their life adventures together took them to Denver for flight training and then on to Connecticut since Dwayne had been hired on by United Airlines as a flight engineer on the Boeing 727 out of New York. Shortly after starting his flying career with United Airlines, Dwayne & Zona made the decision to return to South Dakota. In 1971, Dwayne was laid off by United Airlines. He took this opportunity to establish D&Z Aviation. Dwayne taught ground school, gave flight instruction, flew air ambulance, counted antelope, located buffalo, and pre-baited prairie dogs. United Airlines recalled him in 1977. He was based out of the Denver Hub so he commuted from the Home Place which allowed him to raise his family on the family ranch between Mud Butte and Opal. Dwayne was able to hold down two full time jobs; ranching and flying. He always said that it was like he was on vacation whether he was flying or ranching.
Dwayne became a captain while flying the Boeing 737 and when he retired from United Airlines in September 2001, he was a captain on the Boeing 757 and 767. Because of 9/11, Dwayne never got to fly his final flight, so we celebrated his career with United Airlines; not with a retirement party, but rather a “Moving On” celebration.
Dwayne and Zona’s children, Aurora, Cheyenne, Dakota, Chandelle and JT grew up knowing that they needed to learn to ride a horse, drive tractors, pickups and cars and fly airplanes so they could help Dwayne on the ranch. He taught them by example using his abilities to fly friends and relatives to hospitals, cowboys to rodeos or help find people and livestock. Dwayne loved helping professional cowboys get to their rodeos during the busy summer rodeo run.
Dwayne was selected to be an official torchbearer in the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay on its journey to Salt Lake City. He ran his segment of the relay in Casper, WY.
His association with Limousin cattle and ranching led to awards. In 2000, he was awarded the Faith Stock Show and Rodeo Calf Catching Breeder of the Year. In 2005, he was awarded the Heartland Limousin Association Commercial Producer and the North American Limousin Commercial Producer of the Year. In 2009, Dwayne was awarded the Sturgis Area Chamber Ag Committee Ag Producer of the Year.
But most importantly, he taught many people about our Heavenly Father and the importance of obeying the Gospel. He set the example of how to serve, how to be generous, how to be kind, and how to be patient. Dwayne was willing to share his gift of teaching and preaching in Faith and Prairie City. Dwayne is now celebrating his final “Moving On.”
Dwayne is survived by Zona, his wife of 56 years and 8 months, his five children: Aurora (Tracy) Keffeler, Rozet, WY, Cheyenne (Paul) Winkler, Newell, SD, Dakota (Thad) Dunn, Fort Collins, CO, Chandelle (Travis) Brink, Box Elder, SD, and JT (Kelsey) Vig, Opal, SD, 17 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by sisters, Faith Miller, Mud Butte, SD and Rose Tysdal, Mims, FL, sister-in-law Velma Scott, Pierre, SD and a host of nephews and nieces.
Dwayne was preceded in death by his parents, Cecil & Edith Vig, brother, Merle Vig, sister, Hope Vig, brothers-in-law Ronald Miller and Tony Tysdal, parents-in-law, Gaylord & Iola Scott, brothers-in-law, Ronold Scott and Jerry McLeish and sister-in-law, Debra McLeish.
A memorial has been established for the Opal Volunteer Fire Department and Mountain States Children’s Home, Longmont, CO.
The family thanks each of you for your presence and cordially invites all of you to the new Opal Fire Department Hall for supper after the burial.
