L. Lewis Feuerstein was born on February 19, 1934 at Watertown, South Dakota. He was the sixth of fourteen children. In childhood, Lew lived with his parents, Sylvester and Sylvia (Eichmann) Feuerstein, and his brothers and sisters at 1102 Second Avenue Southeast in Watertown.
Lew attended Garfield School, from Kindergarten through the sixth grade. He had wonderful teachers and carried with him his whole life great memories of his grade-school years. Collectively, his Garfield teachers gave him a love of learning and a life-long love affair with reading. From Garfield, he went on to Watertown Junior High School and met many more dedicated and meaningful teachers. When he completed the ninth grade, Watertown High School became his home until he graduated in 1952.
The world of work beckoned Lew while he was still in late-grade school. He took a job carrying newspapers for the Watertown Public Opinion. By the time he was in high school, Lew took on work in construction and did carpenter work. After high school, he signed on to work at Timmerman Woodworking and spent two years there before starting college.
In the meantime, he met a young girl named Delores (Dee) Eustace who he pursued and chased until she agreed to marry him. He had to chase her all the way to Chicago to get that job done. Dee and Lew eloped in Chicago on November 13, 1954. They returned to Watertown and prepared to enroll at Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen in September of 1955. Dee and Lew attended Northern together and graduated in 1959.
Upon his college graduation, Lew served in the US Army, and when he returned, he started to teach at Watertown in the junior high school. During the summer, he attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to pursue a Master’s degree in guidance and counseling. A second stint in the US Army interrupted those studies and resulted in his transfer to South Dakota State University to complete his master’s degree. He continued to teach at Watertown.
Lew was involved in teaching speech and debate to freshmen. Countless hours listening to practice debates and riding the bus on Saturday mornings to debate tournaments provided him with great memories and a myriad of stories to tell. Many of his students went on to be outstanding debaters, and they then became role models for many other people.
Lew interrupted his teaching career for about ten years. In the 1960s, he and Dee opened Dorothy's Furs and Fashions, a ladies’ ready-to-wear specialty store in Watertown. Dee and Lew kept expanding the store, and it eventually grew to four thousand square feet. Buying trips to New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Minneapolis kept the store stocked with the latest fashions. During the time he was associated with Dorothy's, Lew served on the board of the Chamber of Commerce, and eventually he became the president of the Chamber board. Lew left Dorothy's to go into the insulation business for a brief period of time. After that, he went back into teaching.
Lew then taught for two years at Madison, Minnesota, before returning to the Watertown school system. He took up his old job of teaching speech and debate to freshman students before transferring to the Guidance and Counseling Department. There, he was instrumental in establishing the elementary counseling program, and he served as a counselor until his retirement in 1998.
Before his retirement, Lew took on the role of an Adjunct Professor at Mount Marty College. He taught speech and eventually became active in the student-teacher placement and visitation role. He found working with prospective teachers enjoyable and rewarding.
Lew was a member of The South Dakota Education Association, National Education Association, American Legion, Elks Club, Watertown Chamber of Commerce, Trinity Episcopal Church, and Holy Name Catholic Church.
In his free time over the years, Lew’s passions and pastimes included hunting and fishing, driving a boat so his daughters could waterski, flying kites, woodworking, painting, and storytelling.
Together with Dee, Lew modeled and instilled a strong work ethic in all of his children. He started all four daughters working as gift wrappers at Dorothy's during the Christmas season. With his high standards and expectations, he even “fired” a couple of them from the job because they were not doing it “correctly.”
In 2000, at the time of Dee’s death, Lew and Lake Area Technical Institute established the Dee Feuerstein Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Feuerstein Speakers Fund.
Lew married Monica Kwasniewski on September 23, 2006, at the Mother of God Monastery in Watertown. They made their home in Watertown for six months of the year and in Casa Grande, Arizona for the other six months. The two of them enjoyed spending time with family, traveling, gardening, bird watching, and playing Farkel with their grandchildren.
Lew had four daughters: Elizabeth (Lisa) (Rob) Dalrymple of Casa Grande, Arizona; Laura (Rod) Holmes of Chicago, Illinois; Nancy Hildebrand of Fishers, Indiana; and Kathryn (Katie) (Markus) Anderson of Lehi, Utah. With his marriage to Monica, Lew gained three more daughters: Lori Kwasniewski, Lisa Ronke, and Becky (Trent) Binde, all in Watertown.
Lew was extremely proud of his nine wonderful grandchildren and three great-grandchildren: Dane Holmes, Emayli (M) Holmes, Samuel Hildebrand, Elizabeth Hildebrand, Delaney Anderson, Jared (Tyra) Ronke, Jacob Ronke, Zachary Binde, Zandar Binde, Jed Ronke, Josey Ronke, and Maclay Ronke.
Lew is survived by his wife Monica; his brothers and sisters: Sharon Coyle, Belle Fourche, South Dakota; James (Pat) Feuerstein, Waseca, Minnesota; Vincent Feuerstein, Excelsior, Minnesota; Wesley (Gayle) Feuerstein, Florence, South Dakota; and Judy Upsol, Rogers, Minnesota; his daughters and sons-in-law, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by his first wife Delores (Dee) Feuerstein; his parents, Sylvester and Sylvia; his sisters, Ruth Feuerstein, Rosezella Duke, Cathryn Ommen, Blanche Rosso, and Arlene Madson; his brothers, Robert Feuerstein, Melvin Feuerstein, and Richard Feuerstein; and his son-in-law, Edward (Ed) Ronke.
L. Lewis "Lew" Feuerstein, age 89, of Watertown, SD, passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2023 at Prairie Lakes Hospital.
Visitation will be from 6-8 pm on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Watertown.
Funeral mass will be at 10:30 am on Friday, April 14, 2023 at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Watertown with Father John Fischer and Father Denis Meier as concelebrants.
Lew's funeral service will be recorded and added to his obituary page when available.
Inurnment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery in Watertown.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Watertown Area Community Foundation—Youth Council programs or the Feuerstein Family Scholarship Fund at Lake Area Technical College.