Belva Lea Schad, 76, of Sturgis and formerly of Eagle Butte passed away Friday, May 16, 2025 at Monument Health in Rapid City.
Visitation was held May 22 at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis.
Belva was born July 28, 1948 at the Dr. Creamer Maternity Hospital in Dupree to Leo and Kathleen “Casey” (Bowman) Keller. She attended Eagle Butte School and Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School and graduated in 1966. Following school, she worked at Scotts Paper Company at Everett, WA; helping her cousins Joe and Jim Bowman harvesting; at Lynn’s Super Valu at Eagle Butte as a meat cutter; helped neighbors in the Eagle Butte area with field work and branding; and worked at Little Dakota Truck Stop fixing tires, oil changes, and pumping gas. This is where she met her husband.
On June 1, 1978, Belva married Roderick “Rod” Schad of Eagle Butte. Along with Belva’s two children, Rita and Shane, Belva and Rod started to build their future together in raising hogs and farming on her parents’ July 28, 1948 – May 16, 2025
place west of Eagle Butte. This is when all her talents came to bear in farrowing hogs, working in the shop, running a tractor and a combine, while gardening and caring for the home. Still, she found time for embroidery, quilting, painting, diamond dots, and other crafts. Her true enjoyment was being around people, listening and laughing with them on the happenings in the community and the world. Some of her fondest memories were ice fishing with uncles Lyle and Delmar, trap shooting, and prairie dog hunting with a rifle that Kent sighted-in for her and wouldn’t let Rod touch.
In 2009, Belva and Rod purchased a home in Sturgis in preparation for retirement. She helped her mother Casey when she needed it and was closer to her daughter Rita and her husband Curt in Rapid City. It became a very enjoyable experience for Belva in meeting new people and to be more involved with her granddaughter, Rachel.
In 2021, Belva was diagnosed with MDS (myelodysplastic syndromes) a blood disorder. The efforts to delay MDS included chemo treatments, infusions of platelets, blood, and numerous medications that took its toll. Steadily she lost her strength and the ability to do ordinary house chores. That may have slowed her down, but not her spirit. She continued with some of her crafts and other activities when she could. After three years, MDS advanced, starting with a heart attack which she was revived from, shingles with staph infection, and a diagnosis of breast cancer leading to stronger medication. The final blow was sepsis infection. After being revived three times, the fourth time she was let go to go home.
Belva is survived by her husband Roderick; mother Kathleen “Casey” Bunner of Sturgis; her daughter Rita (Curt) Korkow of Rapid City; two grandchildren, Rachel Korkow of Aberdeen and Dustin (Laura) Korkow of Waterloo, IA; a great-granddaughter Amelia Korkow; brother Jerry (Chrissi) Keller of Marysville, WA; and sister Darlene (John) Wulf of Owanka.
She was preceded in death by her father, Leo Keller, and son, Shane Schad.
Memorials can be directed to The Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Foundation Inc.
Kinkade Funeral Chapel of Sturgis has been entrusted with Belva’s arrangements.