Doris L. Moe Ernst

Doris Luanne Moe Ernst, age 95, of Sioux Falls, passed away on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at Good Samaritan Luther Manor in Sioux Falls. Funeral services will begin at 2:00 PM Monday, June 15, 2026, at West Nidaros Lutheran Church, rural Crooks. Interment will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 3-5:00 PM Sunday, June 14, 2026, at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Baltic.

Doris was born on October 19, 1930, the ninth of nine children born to Bennie and Emma Moe. She was born and raised on the 1869 homestead of her great grandfather, Peder O. Dalemoe, near Renner, SD. She attended the local country grade school and walked one mile to and from school everyday, even in the often brutal South Dakota winters with her siblings and neighbor children. She later attended Baltic High School and graduated in 1948. She went on to work at an office job in Sioux Falls for a short time and then for a year in Lincoln, Nebraska as a Comptometer operator but moved back to Sioux Falls due to her father’s failing health. She then worked as an executive secretary in payroll at John Morrell’s (now Smithfield Foods) in Sioux Falls for several years. Doris met and later married Dr. Burrell R. Ernst Jr. in May 1954 at West Nidaros Lutheran Church where she had been baptized, confirmed and had attended her whole life. They went on to have five children: Sarah, William, John, Sally and Joseph. Doris’s final job before retiring at 62 was as a code clerk unit supervisor at Western Surety (now CNA Surety) in Sioux Falls. As a child Doris loved to play with her dolls and cats and also with her two brothers Jim and Bud, who were closest to her in age. In high school Doris had lots of good friends, many of whom remained lifelong friends. She played on the girls softball team and was a cheerleader for her last three years of high school. She was always an enthusiastic armchair sports fan and enjoyed rooting for her Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings on TV. She loved playing cards (“Whist” and “Pitch”) and golfing with her siblings almost every weekend in their mid-life and older years. The monthly Moe luncheon for all relatives was always a great time for all who were able to attend. One of Doris’s favorite things to do as a young woman was dance. She loved ballroom dancing and especially big band and swing dancing. She and her friends would often go to the Arkota Ballroom in downtown Sioux Falls where they would dance to the likes of Lawrence Welk, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra and many others. 

Doris’s greatest achievement of her life was raising her children, loving, caring for and helping them all of their lives. She truly loved her extended family as well: all of her siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She often said emphatically that “my family is my life!” And she meant it. 

Doris was preceded in death by her parents Bennie and Emma Moe, brothers Arthur Moe, Dennis Moe, Bennie Moe and James Moe, sisters Sena Oaks, Ella Aasen, Eunice Thompson and Florence Selland, sons John Ernst and Joseph Ernst, son-in-law Ronald Schock, many cousins and several nieces and nephews. 

Doris is survived by her daughter Sarah Schock, Sioux Falls, SD; son William Ernst, Minneapolis, MN; daughter Sally Watton-Holcomb (Michael), Baytown, TX; two grandsons, Gabriel Watton (Tiffany), Beaumont, TX and Aaron Schock, Sioux Falls, SD; great grandson Jake, three great granddaughters, Riley, Madison and Madelyn, and several nieces and nephews. 

Doris’s family gives special thanks and appreciation for all of the compassionate and patient care that she received from her caregivers and staff at Luther Manor. Also, many thanks to Avera Hospice, Orstad Clinic, and the pastors and volunteers from Peace Lutheran church for all of their visits to see and pray with her.