Bertha Mary Putnam was born May 22, 1910, in a sod house in Gregory County, ten miles south of Dallas, to John and Mary Elizabeth (Weis) Determan. She passed away peacefully on March 8, 2005, after a short illness.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m, Friday, March 11, at St. John's Catholic Church, Paxton, SD (10 miles south and one mile west of Dallas, SD). Rosary will be held at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 10, at Clausen Funeral Home, Burke, SD.

She was baptized in the Catholic faith at St. Johns Catholic Church, Paxton, SD. She attended Meadowbrook school in Dickens township.

She married Francis John Putnam on June 10, 1929. They made their home south and west of Paxton, moving to their ranch in 1940. She was an active member of St. Johns parish, the Valley Reading Circle, and the Democrat party. After Franciss death in January 1980, she continued to live on their ranch until she moved in the mid-80s to her home in Gregory.

She is survived by their children: Robert and Mary Jane (Lang), Mesa, AZ; Joe and Mary Lou (Kayl), Woodside, CA; Doris and Kenny Miner, Dallas; Jim and Judy (McCance), Visalia, CA; and Pat and Linda (Normoyle), San Mateo, CA; 24 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Surviving also are her sisters Hilda Raymond, Yankton; Florence Karrels, Sturgis, and Mary Rita Leibel, Burke.

She was preceded in death by her husband; their daughter, Margaret Ann (Nan) Marwede; her brothers Ben, Clarence, Leo, Ray, and a sister, Irene.

The family requests that memorials be directed to the building maintenance fund for St. John's Catholic Church at Paxton, in care of either Doris Miner or BankWest, Gregory, SD.