Jessica M. Sprecher

Jessica Marie Sprecher passed away in Dell Rapids SD on January 14, 2024, at the age of 46. Memorial services will begin at 11:00 AM Friday, January 19, 2024, at the Lutheran Church of Dell Rapids. Visitation will be from 5-7:00 PM Thursday, at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Dell Rapids.

Jessica was born in Vermillion, SD on June 20, 1977, to James and Marion (Bortnem) Sprecher. She grew up in Vermillion with her younger sister Kerri and graduated from Vermillion High School in 1995. After high school, she gave birth to her two beautiful daughters, Alexis and Brenna, and graduated from the University of South Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice in 2004. She then moved with her daughters to Dell Rapids, SD where she met her fiancé and the love of her life Jeffrey in 2007. She welcomed him and her new stepson Jaxon into the family. Her family grew again with the birth of their son Samuel in 2013.

She was a selfless person in many ways, one of her most rewarding jobs was being a volunteer for CASA. In December 2012, she began her career with the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Department as a correctional officer. As a part of her service, she enjoyed instructing and encouraging her trainees. She had a deep passion for her work and a strong love for her coworkers (even when it was involving a telephone). She also had compassion for those she cared for on her watch.  In her spare time, she loved camping at Swan Lake, spending time with her two grandbabies and the rest of her family. She enjoyed movies, true crime, and listening to Christian music.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents on both sides, aunt Sandra and uncle Fred Sargent, aunt Julie Bortnem and uncle Roger Bortnem, uncle Duane Sakry, uncle and godfather Richard Frye, and her beloved cat Henry Huggins.

Grateful for having shared Jessica‘s life are her fiancé Jeff Ellingson; daughters Alexis Marie and Brenna Anne; sons Jaxon Garrett, and Samuel Howard Joe; her grandchildren Coast James and Waverly Louise; her father James and mother Marion, her sister Kerri Kathleen and her in-laws Connie & Dennis, Ron & Terri. She is also survived by her many, many, many cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews.