Patricia Watkins

Patricia L. Watkins, 78, of Edgemont, S.D., passed away March 9, 2026. 
Patty was born July 23, 1947, in Glenwood, Minn., raised on a farm in Grove Lake Township. She enjoyed spending much time outdoors with the animals.  She was definitely a tomboy.  She and her brother, Dale, survived typical shenanigans and kept their Uncle Andy on his toes.
Patty had three children—Connie, Jason and Brenda.  All of them helped her on the dairy farm and did most of the farm chores while the men worked on the roads. Her then husband, Dean, passed away from cancer in 1988. Patty at that time worked in a local manufacturing shop where she met Jim Watkins. They dated and in 1989 they moved to the Custer area.  
Patty and Jim raised registered quarter horses and Corriente cattle. They enjoyed frequent camping and hunting in the Big Horns until a grizzly bear took their elk—they decided that was enough of that!
As their ranch expanded to 100 percent beef cattle they started an irrigated hay farm. Patty helped Jim with the hay farm along with Cody and Jim. After she quit helping with the hay operation she spent more time at home, hunting for artifacts with her rottweilers and her grandkids.  Patty also did quite a lot of the bookkeeping, errand running and other secretarial duties.
Patty kept up with many of her old friends and relatives in Minnesota. She was known for her fantastic sloppy joes with meatballs and her mushroom chicken.  She knew how to cook!
Her last years she struggled with health issues and her passing has put her in a better place and taken away her pain.
She is preceded in death by her parents; her first husband, Dean Schnackenberg; and her grandson, Jonathan.
She is survived by her husband, Jim; son, Jason (Susan) Schnackenberg; daughters, Brenda Schnackenber, and Connie (Francis) Zeimet; brother, Dale Wilson; grandchildren, Cody, Jordan, Justin, Christopher and Raliegh; and great-grandchildren, Emily,  Madi,  Logan, Brycen, Kylie, Kenzie, Kambrie, Madilynn, Harper and Cora.
Funeral service was Saturday, March 14, at Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Hot Springs, S.D., followed by committal service at Fairview Cemetery in Oral, S.D.
Arrangements have been placed in the care of Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Hot Springs.