It is with our deepest sorrow and overwhelming love that we share the passing of Casey Joe Wilson, age 50, of Flandreau, SD — beloved husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin, roping partner, farrier, bandmate, team leader, friend, and someone who never met a stranger without making them feel like family. Casey passed away unexpectedly on Monday, June 2, 2025.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, 2025, at the Flandreau Public School gymnasium, 600 West Community Drive, with a reception to follow. Visitation will be held at the same location on Friday evening beginning at 4:00 p.m., with a prayer service at 6:00 p.m. Friends and family are invited to gather afterward at The Merc — one of Casey’s proudest creations — for an evening of stories, music, and remembering the man who built so much more than a place, but a legacy of love.
Casey was born on November 3, 1974, in Milbank, South Dakota, to Randy and Darla (Fisher) Wilson. A proud enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, he graduated from Plankinton High School in 1993 and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in education from Black Hills State University, where he also played football and competed in rodeo. As a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), his love for team roping took him across the country, where he consistently placed and walked away with top earnings on the circuit.
He married Kara (Stone) Dahl, and together they made their home in southern Oklahoma, where Casey trained under one of the best in the business to become a skilled farrier. Even as he continued roping and riding, his proudest title became “Dad” — to Landree, Breck, and Bryer. The family eventually returned to South Dakota to be closer to loved ones and the roping community he held dear in Flandreau. As the demands of rodeo life grew, and as his family life changed, Casey made the difficult but heartfelt decision to hang up his ropes and focus entirely on being the dad he knew his kids deserved.
It was also at that time that music found him again. And around a campfire with old roping buddies from Wisconsin, guitar in hand, he began to heal. That moment eventually led him to Carleen, the woman who would become his wife and closest companion. From their very first lunch date in 2010, the two were nearly inseparable — building a life full of music, friendship, laughter, and shared dreams. Together, they built The Merc, board by board and piece of steel by piece of steel — not just a business, but a home away from home for so many, a place rooted in comfort, heart, and connection.
Casey absolutely loved life — and he loved his life. He carried with him a deep appreciation for the people and places that shaped him: his early childhood classmates, his closest of friends, his hometown, his new home. Whether passing through or planting roots, he remembered names, faces, and stories — and made everyone feel they belonged. He hit the road often in recent years, finally learning how to rest, to take vacations, to slow down and soak in every moment. Travel always meant coming back with more ideas — more ways to connect people, to dream big, to love big.
Casey lived life fully and loved without condition. He was a gifted craftsman, a lifelong learner, a child of God, and a man who gave his all to his family, his friends, and his community. Whether he was shoeing horses, mentoring young ropers, leading his band, writing music, volunteering, or slinging beers at The Merc — he showed up with heart and humor. He built what he believed in, literally and figuratively — one nail, one note, one conversation, one act of service at a time. And to anyone struggling — his kids, his friends, or a stranger along the road — he’d offer the same steadfast encouragement: “Anything one man can do, you can do.” He believed in others even before they believed in themselves.
He was a proud member of the First United Methodist Church in Flandreau and a founding force behind the South Dakota Shared Parenting movement. Casey never hesitated to stand up for what he believed was fair and right — whether that meant changing laws to help children stay connected with both parents, lending a hand to someone in need, picking up a hitchhiker just to hear their story, or offering his last dollar without a second thought.
He loved singing and playing guitar — especially with Landree — though truthfully, he’d play and harmonize with anyone willing to join in. He cherished his time on the road with The Barn Flies and spent countless hours in his home recording studio, making sure his music — and his heart — would live on for his kids to remember. Recently, he and Breck had begun sitting down together most nights to play, building something new between them, one chord at a time.
He treasured time with his boys — thrifting adventures, Tuesday ice cream runs, Wing Wednesdays, bike rides with Carleen, grilling dinner, and long nights by the fire with a fine bourbon, good tequila, and even better company. He was always teasing his brothers and his dad, checking in daily with his parents and kids, and making time — always — to show up, to visit, to sit and just be with the people he loved. The door was always open, the hugs were strong and calloused, and the laughter unforgettable.
Casey is survived by his wife, Carleen; his children Ailee Southwood, Riverton, WY (stepdaughter), Landree Wilson, Sioux Falls, SD, Breck Wilson, Flandreau, SD, and Bryer Wilson, Brookings, SD; his parents, Randy and Darla Wilson, Colman, SD; his brothers, Cody (Jen) Wilson, Parkston, SD and Cullen (Michele) Wilson, Madison, SD; his exchange students, Edu Povea, Málaga, Spain and Melina Matthys, Arismont, Namur, Belgium; and countless aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends who became family.
He is preceded in death by his grandparents, John and Hazel Wilson of White Lake, SD; Duane Fisher of Huron, SD; Bea Pourier of Wall, SD; and his uncle, Jack Wilson of Hurley, SD.
It’s been a great ride, cowboy. Rest easy.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to a fund established for the future education of Breck and Bryer Wilson at First National Bank of Sioux Falls, Flandreau branch.
