A great man’s heart was stilled on May 11, 2025, when Myron Ellis Fahrenwald, M.D., a native of Conde, passed away peacefully at Prairie Lakes Hospital in Watertown. He was surrounded by his loving wife of nearly 69 years, Joan, and many, many family members.
Myron was born at home in Conde on March 17, 1935, to Ernest and Dorothy Fahrenwald. Ernest – Ernie to his friends and family – ran the Conde Oil Company for over 23 years and Dorothy taught school in Conde and in nearby Crocker. She also gave piano lessons to many Conde-area youngsters. Myron was the youngest of three surviving children, joining two older sisters, Ardis and Orpha. Ernie and Dorothy’s first-born child, Ernie D, had died as a toddler after an illness. His young cousin Helen was later taken in by the family and raised as another sister.
Myron attended grade school and high school in Conde, graduating from CHS in 1953 as co-valedictorian. He then went to the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he became a member of Phi Beta Kappa fraternity and the Wesley Foundation. During the summer of 1955, while participating in a Methodist Church youth leadership event at Lake Poinsett, SD, he met the love of his life, Joan McWilliam, a beautiful college sophomore from Kansas. It was love at first sight. Both were smitten and they married on August 5, 1956 in Emporia, KS. Each was 21 years old. It would be a fruitful union under heaven that would last nearly seven decades, producing five children, 13 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren, with another due in November 2025.
Myron completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at USD in 1957, as well as his first two years of medical school, graduating fifth in his class. Joan taught school to help support them. They lost their first baby, Mark, in December 1957. Myron finished his last two years of medical school at Washington University in St Louis, MO, earning his M.D. degree in 1960. While in St Louis, Joan gave birth to Martin (Marty) in 1959 and Myrna in 1960. Myron completed his one-year internship at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI – home to his sister, Orpha. In 1961, the newly-minted doctor went into private practice at the Redfield Clinic in Redfield. He also traveled to Conde two afternoons a week to hold office hours in the community where he was born and raised. In 1962, Carl was born and in 1964, Ruth was welcomed. Finally, in 1971, Paul joined the family. Myron left Redfield in 1978 and joined a private practice in Huron for a year before assuming the role of Emergency Room Director at St Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen in 1979. He served in that capacity for the last ten years of his active medical career. During all those St Luke’s years, Myron commuted to Aberdeen from his beloved Fahrview Acres, eight miles SE of Conde.
Myron had a vision for the family property that his parents had purchased in 1935. Fahrview was created beginning in 1971. Planting trees, building ponds, gardening, fencing, developing an oasis; Fahrview was a labor of love. That legacy continues today to be enjoyed by future generations.
Myron was a true Renaissance man, if ever there was one. In his professional life, he was a beloved physician, widely known for his bedside manner. He was an old-school family doctor, the bygone kind who delivered babies, set bones, did surgeries, and made house calls. But he had numerous avocations – architect, welder, carpenter, plumber, and electrician. He built multiple go-karts from scratch, as well as whimsical animal sculptures from assorted scrap metal pieces (his “junk art”). He crafted furniture, including beautiful stereo cabinets and a dining room set in 1966 that is still in family use today. He was a Bridge player and an outdoorsman. He was a good shot, whether with a rifle, a handgun, or a pool cue. He taught all his kids to play ping-pong and to throw some English on the serve. And, he was an avid musician, playing guitar and singing bass. Over the years, he and Joan played innumerable shows together (he on guitar and she on keyboard): from annual Crandall Fests near Conde, to the Eastern Star Home in Redfield and other area nursing homes, to big stage events with snowbirds in McAllen, TX. They also played jamborees at the Conde United Methodist Church for five years in support of world hunger, raising thousands of dollars in the process.
But Myron was first and foremost a proud and dedicated family man – the patriarch, the “leader of the band”. Along with his loving, steadfast wife Joan, he always treasured family time above all else. They were outstanding role models for their five children, raising them with strong Christian values, and passing on to them – and to their succeeding generations – a wonderful sense of humor, the capacity for hard work and accomplishment, and the desire to honor traditions and legacy.
Myron is survived by his wife Joan at Edgewood in Watertown; three sons Marty (Kathy) Fahrenwald of Watertown, Carl (Nancy) Fahrenwald of College Station, TX, and Paul (Sheri) Fahrenwald of Frisco, TX; two daughters Myrna (Glen) McBride of Choctaw, OK, and Ruth (Jeff) Young of Conde; thirteen grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren.
Myron was preceded in death by his oldest child Mark; his brother Ernie D; his parents, Ernest and Dorothy; and his sister Ardis.
Funeral arrangements are being coordinated by Paetznick-Garness Funeral Chapel in Groton. A memorial service will be held at the United Methodist Church in Conde on Monday, May 19 at 11 a.m., with the family present for visitors beginning at 9 a.m.
www.paetznick-garness.com
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