On 13 August 2024, Valerie Pulscher was laid to rest on her birthday at the Black Hills National Cemetery. She had passed away peacefully on February 9, 2023, surrounded by her family.
Val was born in Hot Springs, SD, to the late Ernie and Eloise Pepin of Custer, SD. On April 14, 1973, Val married Colonel William Pulscher, from Egan, SD, and they celebrated 50 years of marriage in April 2023. They had three children: Shawn (married to Maureen Borbely), Cheyenne (married to Jeff Lawrence) and Sara (married to Pete Schaich), and were blessed with six grandchildren: Chloe and Alexie Lawrence, Nicholas and Jacob Schaich, and Lily and Cameron Pulscher. Val loved spending time with all of them!
From the time she was married, until Bob retired from the Army 30 years later, Val was a soldier’s wife, traveling the world with her family and serving as the commander’s wife and first lady of seven different Army units. She moved her family nearly two dozen times, circling the globe in the process. No matter the distance, she took her children to visit her family in Custer, South Dakota every summer.
Val held a variety of jobs in her life as a military wife: she was a legal secretary, a teacher, a technical manual writer, and an office manager to mention just a few. After leaving military life and finding stability in Rock Island, IL, Val spent 20 years working for Case New Holland, where she was known for two things: (1) making sure the office ran as efficiently as any organization on Earth, and (2) telling everybody within earshot, “if it ain’t red, leave it in the shed!”
Val lived life to the fullest, loved and supported her country, and spent as much time with her family, friends, and pets as possible. She loved playing cards: pinochle with soldiers, hearts with her family, and cribbage with anybody who dared challenge her. She was a great dancer, a decent–but super enthusiastic, darn it! –bowler, and the #1 fan of whichever sports teams her grandchildren were playing for. She was also a warrior in her own right, flat out refusing to accept her initial cancer diagnosis of having just six months to live, and instead squeezing out nearly ten additional–and incredibly full–years of life.
In summary, Val was a loving, tough, foxy lady who will be sorely missed by all who knew her.
