Merrill "Dean" Haug

Merrill “Dean” Haug, age 87, of Madison, died Tuesday, May 28, 2019, at Bethel Lutheran Home in Madison. Funeral services will be 1:30 PM, Sunday, June 2, 2019, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Madison. Burial will follow at Graceland Cemetery. Visitation will be 2-4PM, Saturday, at Ellsworth Funeral Home.

Merrill Dean Haug was born August 15, 1931 to Clarence Hjelmer Haug and Eva Belle Chapman Haug on the family farm in Collins Township Clark County, S.D. He graduated from Willow Lake High School in 1949. While in High School his first job was as a soda jerk at he the local drug store.  After high school he farmed with his father and brother until the summer of 1955 when a hail storm destroyed the crops. He began his mining career shortly after when he began  driving a gravel truck for Weelborg Brothers Construction of Dell Rapids, the firm happened to be set up in a  gravel pit just east of the family farm.  His career would take him across the state while working on crews completing the construction of US Highway 90 installing shoulders . In addition to driving dump trucks he worked on oil crews and became an expert front end loader operator. He travelled all over S.D. to various gravel pits making gravel for road surfaces.  In 1984 Weelborg Bros. was sold to Fisher Sand and Gravel of N.D. He worked there until his retirement in 1994.   His retirement was short lived, as he soon began working for Michael Johnson Construction in Madison.  In 2004 after 49 years of working in the mining industry he was awarded a certification of honor for the 40+ years of working in the mining industry with no time lost to injury. He continued to work until age seventy-five.

On Oct. 15, 1960, he married Donna Mae Diller.  They made their home in Madison, SD and raised their two children.   He was a long time member of Trinity Lutheran Church.  He was a devoted husband and father and proud grandfather. 

He is survived by his wife Donna, two children Rob(Laura) and Janet Bonacorda (Bob).Four  grandchildren Ben Haug(Jackie), Kaitlin Haug , Anna Bonacorda and Philip Bonacorda. Two great granddaughters  Hensley and Hannah Haug.     

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Leland.

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