April 29, 1967.
A 37 year old wife, mother of three and teacher from Flandreau was encouraged to be in the Mrs. South Dakota competition. Ramona Zephier won that competition and now 50 years later, we reminisce about the impact that - and she- had on her family. The following story was penned by her daughter, Marcia, and we at the Enterprise are happy to bring it to you here.
Courtesy of Marcia Zephier in her words
Amidst the blast of horns and sirens, Flandreau rolled out the red carpet for my parents, Ramona and Andy Zephier, as they returned from the Home Builder’s Show in Sioux Falls where Mom had been newly crowned Mrs. South Dakota 1967.
With a police escort, a caravan of Flandreau residents met them at the Lone Tree Station and escorted them the rest of the way home. At the west edge of the city, they were transferred to a convertible and rode through town to the Masonic Temple where a brief midnight reception was held in Mom’s honor. She was presented with a bouquet of roses and a key to the city by Mayor William V. Campbell.
It’s been fifty years ago, almost to the day, as I page through a photo album my grandma, Victoria Zephier, made to commemorate the events of my mother’s win as Mrs. South Dakota, and her and my dad’s 10-day trip to San Diego to compete in the Mrs. America Pageant. In fact, Grandma created three of these albums and gifted them to my brothers and me one Christmas many years ago. The pages, slightly yellowed, have stood the test of time. Tears run down my cheeks as I reminisce. There are still tears of sadness, but mostly of joy and pride. You see, I’m so very fortunate that God put this wonderful woman on earth to be my mother.
Early years
Mom was born on November 27, 1930 to Francis and Julia (LeBeau) Fielder. She was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and received her education at federal day and boarding schools graduating as valedictorian of her class at the tender age of 16. She went on to South Dakota State College and in 1951 earned her B.S. degree in Home Economics. While at State, Mom became quite proficient at the sport of billiards. In fact, she was the 1951 ACUI Women’s Singles champion! A few years ago, my cousin, Frank, told me that he remembered being in awe of Mom’s rather large trophy which he had seen at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. He mentioned to Grandpa how impressed he was, and Grandpa said stoically, “I sent her to college to get an education, not play pool.” I guess he wasn’t as impressed with that hardware as Frank was.
Life begins in Flandreau
Eight months after graduating from State, Mom and Dad were married in Pipestone, MN, on February 23, 1952. They taught at Dupree, SD, on the Cheyenne River Reservation, for a time before making their way to Dad’s hometown of Flandreau in 1957. Mom was offered a teaching job at the Flandreau Indian School and agreed to take the position if they could find something for her husband. He initially began working in the Boys Dorm.
Their careers and lives began taking shape and Flandreau would become their new, permanent home. They worked at the school for the next several years- Mom for 16 and Dad becoming a teacher and coach for 33 ½ years.
And what a coach he was. Football, basketball, track, and cross country trophies began flooding his office. The name, Andy Zephier, became widely known and respected in the high school sports world as his teams began winning state championship after state championship.
Life was good for the Zephier family. Big brother, Stuart, and I were active in school and sports and on New Year’s Eve 1963, we were blessed with a baby brother named Nelson.
Mom was becoming heavily involved in school, community, church, and other organizations. She was an extremely talented golfer and bowler competing in local and state tournaments. She was a member of the Eastern Star, Delta Kappa Gamma and was my 4-H Leader for several years.
One of my fondest childhood memories was participating in 4-H. As a nine year old, Mom taught me how to sew, bake, speak publicly, and make home improvement projects. All were skills that would follow me the rest of my life. I remember those summers fondly as I prepared all my projects for local and state 4-H competitions. Not surprisingly, I did quite well--I probably had the best teacher ever. Mom was a perfectionist who would have me do things over and over until they met her approval. It taught me perseverance and most certainly, patience!
Becoming Mrs. South
Dakota
In early 1967, Mom was asked, on several occasions, to apply to the Mrs. South Dakota competition and did so with encouragement and support from Dad. She was selected as one of ten finalists to compete for the title from an applicant pool of 125 women. She and Dad spent three days in Sioux Falls where she would undergo the rigors of competing with the other finalists. On the first day, they both appeared before four judges for the interview portion of the competition. Then that evening, she completed such tasks as setting a formal table for two, preparing a sour cream recipe, and baking, frosting and decorating a cake.
On Friday, she modeled outfits from various businesses with an impromptu interview in front of an audience. The competition was complete and on Saturday, she was crowned Mrs. South Dakota. My Auntie Evon recalls that day well. She remembers the moment Mom was announced the winner and Mom exclaimed with excitement, “Where’s my honey?” as Dad ran up to the stage and planted a kiss on her cheek. What a lovely moment!
Her victory as Mrs. South Dakota was not only important to the people of our state, but also for American Indians. Even Ben Reifel, (SD’s first American Indian Congressman who served five terms in the House) our Republican Representative, entered some remarks which were placed in the Congressional Record, dated May 9, 1967. Here is a portion of those remarks: “Mr. Speaker, not since 1964 when a South Dakota Indian boy, Billy Mills, gained the respect and admiration of the American people by winning an Olympic Gold Medal has the proud State of South Dakota and the Sioux Indian people had so much to be proud of. Mrs. Ramona Zephier, a full-blooded Sioux Indian from Flandreau, was crowned Mrs. South Dakota last week and is presently competing the for title of Mrs. America in San Diego, Calif…He goes on to say, “Mrs. Zephier represents not only South Dakota but also is a tribute to the Indian people of America.” We later learned that Mr. Reifel was trying to recruit Mom for a future run at a South Dakota Congressional seat which she respectfully declined due to her family commitments.
As it turns out, the Mrs. America competition proved to be extremely busy and rigorous. The 11 competitive events were Interior Design, Child Entertaining, Adult Entertaining, Money Management,
Child Communication, Fashion Event, Pancake Event, Gift Wrapping, Safe Driving, Grocery Shopping, and Patio Spread.
Mom placed first in the Patio Spread event where they prepared an entire meal and served it to the San Diego firemen who were their chauffeurs throughout the event. Throughout the competition, Mom found ways to enhance her presentations to represent her American Indian background. In a letter Dad wrote to us while in San Diego, he said, “Yesterday, Mona and I had the Interview and it was real friendly—we talked about Indians (The first Americans).” Mom didn’t win, but she placed in the top ten. We were all very, very proud of her.
Life after competition
They returned home with the same parade and fanfare as when they returned home from the state competition, and then settled to a somewhat normal routine. When asked what her most memorable event was, Mom responded, “In all honesty the most memorable of this whole experience is not what I attained or what I did, but the response that we as a family have received from South Dakota and our own hometown of Flandreau. The display of feeling and acceptance and what all you people have done for us is the most memorable.” In the following years, our parents continued their active lifestyles and community involvement. Dad slowly transitioned from coaching to athletic administration, while Mom continued in her role as Home Economics instructor at FIS and would serve as Tea Room supervisor which included a Restaurant Training program for her girls, who would receive hands-on experience at local restaurants.
Tragedy strikes
In the early morning hours of October 3, 1973, our hometown physician, Dr. Otey, drove to our house on Prospect Ave., silently walked in the front door and up to my parents’ bedroom. He quietly woke Dad and instructed him to get dressed and go the hospital where Mom had been for a few days following a routine surgery. She had developed pneumonia and her kidneys were failing. To this day, I’m not sure if Dad was able to get there in time. I remember waking up that morning and getting Nelson and myself ready for school when the phone rang. It was Dad. Mom was gone.
The following days were a blur but what I remember most was the fact that we could not possibly have a memorial service in our little church in Flandreau. It would have to be somewhere much bigger, and so it was decided that we would hold a public service at the auditorium at the school where Mom and Dad spent almost their entire careers, FIS. Once again, and for the last time, the entire Flandreau community came together to pay their respects to a wonderful woman, only 42 years old and gone too soon.
Life would never be the same for us, but we did power through some very difficult years and remain close as a family.
Powering on
I can’t help but wonder what type of woman I would’ve turned out to be if Mom had been in my life longer. Perhaps you don’t realize how much an impact someone has on your life when you’re fifteen years old. Trust me, it’s insurmountable. I was blessed to have Ramona Zephier as my mom and learned more from her in those short fifteen years than I can ever begin to imagine.
I like to think she would be proud of her children today. We all attended college and received our respective degrees. Stuart and I graduated from her alma mater, South Dakota State University, with our Master’s degrees in Educational Administration. Like Mom and Dad, Stuart spent his entire education career as a teacher, coach, and administrator at the Flandreau Indian School. Nelson works for Lutheran Social Services and is a small business owner. Additionally, he tirelessly reserves the Recovery community as a role model, leader and mentor to those dealing with addiction. As for me, I, too, followed in my parents’ footsteps by becoming a teacher, a career which I enjoyed for over 34 years. I still haven’t “let go” completely and continue to teach a class at the University of Sioux Falls, as well as a new endeavor as an Account Executive for Avera eCare.
Our dad passed away in December of 2010. Today, our parents would have 8 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, all of which they would be so proud of.
I think I can speak for my brothers. We are the ones who are proud. Proud of the young, Indian couple who made an amazing impact in this small community and the state of South Dakota.
