Elsie Ptacek, 60, of Winner, SD passed away at her home surrounded by her family on Friday, October 30 ^th , 2020.  Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, November 4 ^th , 2020 at 10:00AM at the Winner United Methodist Church.  Burial will follow in the Winner City Cemetery.  Visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 3 ^rd , 2020 at the Winner United Methodist Church from 6-7:00PM with a prayer service beginning at 7:00PM.

Elsie Marie Ptacek was born February 23rd, 1960 to Kenneth and Bertha Wiley of

Wewela. She attended grade school in Wewela and graduated from Colome High School in

1978. Not long after graduation, she met her husband, Milo. The two were married in Pierre, SD

in August of 1979. The couple had three children; Melissa, Cliff, and Samantha.

Elsie's greatest passion in life was helping others. She started her nursing career

working in long term care at the Winner Regional Healthcare Center in 1992. Elsie received her

Associates Degree in Nursing from Dakota Wesleyan University in 1996. Throughout her career,

Elsie continued to seek out training and other opportunities to be able to provide the best care

possible to the residents. In 2011, Elsie moved to the Avera Rosebud Country Care Center in

Gregory. No matter the position she was in, patient care was always her top priority and she

cared deeply for each of the residents in her care.

She loved being outside during the summer. She always had a large garden and could

often be found out there relaxing. Of course, her idea of relaxing in the garden meant pulling

weeds. She also loved going camping. Elsie enjoyed being right down along the river where all

she needed was the radio and her fishing pole. She could always out fish all of us especially

when it came to catfishing.

Family time was very important to Elsie. Her time with her grandchildren was very

precious. They helped her in the garden, played games together, and she always had art

projects for them to do. She also cherished being able to spend time with her kids. Whether it

was during the holidays, a late-night card game or throwing darts, being surrounded by her

family always brought the biggest smile to her face. Her kids always knew they could come to

her for advice and she was grateful to be able to pass her knowledge along to them.

Elsie is survived by her husband of 41 years, Milo; her children: Melissa Ptacek of

Lennox, SD, Cliff (Andrea) Ptacek of Winner, SD, and Samantha Ptacek of Winner, SD; her

grandchildren: Bailey and Camden; her sister, Nancy Wiley of Spearfish, SD; as well as her

nephews and many other family members and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Kenneth and Bertha Wiley, her father-in-law,

Milo Ptacek, Sr., and mother-in-law, Lillian Vavra.