The memorial service for Kenneth Leroy Buhl, 71, of Aberdeen, SD, will be 10:30am, April 7, 2023, at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, with Pastor George Shaver officiating and Military honors by Sidney L. Smith American Legion Post 24. Ken died Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Our Lady of Peace Hospice in St. Paul, MN, after a long struggle with prostate cancer. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.
Kenneth Leroy Buhl was born December 15, 1951 in Moorhead, Minnesota to Leroy and Geraldine (Lovell) Buhl. He grew up and attended school around Britton, SD, and graduated from high school in 1970. During his high school years, Ken worked for the family business, Buhl’s Cleaners, in Britton.
After graduating, Ken continued working with the family business, and soon after enlisted in the Army. He moved to Pierre, SD, and then Mitchell, SD, where he met his future wife, Mary (Schroeder). Ken and Mary were married on November 29, 1975, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Stickney, SD. The next year they relocated to Huron, SD, and then to Yankton in 1984, where they started a new Buhl’s Drycleaners. In 1985, they adopted a daughter, Angela, and in 1986 they welcomed the birth of their son, Kenneth Michael. Ken was heavily involved in the Yankton community, both as a local business owner and as a member of several boards and committees. Ken also expanded his business operations, and at one point had five locations of Buhl’s Drycleaners. In 1997, Ken and Mary divorced. In 2001, Ken married Trish Dean, and became a stepfather to her daughters Cierra and Nicole. Ken and Trish divorced in 2006. After selling the business in Yankton in 2013, Ken relocated to Spearfish, SD, and then worked for a year as a consultant for an investor in Texas.
In 2016, Ken relocated to Aberdeen, and purchased another dry cleaners, which he operated for a time with his son, Kenny. Unfortunately, it was not long before he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, though he responded well to treatment for several years. In 2017, he began a relationship with Sandy Fliehs, who he had known from their school years.
When he wasn’t busy with his businesses, Ken was an avid outdoorsman. Ken loved archery, hunting, fishing, and traveling in pursuit of those things. His travels took him to destinations like Canada, Oregon, Las Vegas, Norway, and South Africa. Most of all, he loved spending time with family, especially his grandson, Miles.
He is survived by his partner, Sandy Fliehs; his former wife, Mary (Schroeder) Buhl; their daughter, Angie (Buhl) O’Donnell and her husband, Jake; their son, Kenny, and his fiancée Corry (Hammett); his grandson, Miles; his stepmother, Arlene Buhl; two brothers, David Buhl and Willie Haskell; seven sisters: Nancy (Buhl) Dunn, Donna (Buhl) LeGrand, Judy (Buhl) Dale, Jackie (Adam) Odom, Debbie (Haskell) Sanchez, Tammy (Haskell) Thomas and Dawn Haskell, along with many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his father, Leroy Buhl; his mother, Geraldine Haskell; his step-father, Willis Haskell; his brother, Roger Buhl; his grandparents, Elvin and Erna Buhl, Jenny and Chester Lovell; step-grandparents, George and Eva Naasz; a son, Nicholas, and a nephew, William Legrand.
