Deadwood, South Dakota lost one of its truly unique longtime residents on March 4, 2025 William “Bill” Auer passed away at the Westhills Village in Rapid City from complications following surgery.
Eighty-seven-year-old, Bill Auer, lived his entire life in his home on Main St in Deadwood, SD. Bill’s parents, Carl and Myrtle Auer operated the Sinclair filling station on Main St in Deadwood. Bill was the only child of Carl and Myrtle.
Bill learned how to work hard from his parents. He was especially talented at operating heavy equipment. Bill spent many years putting in long hours working in road construction, etc. Even in his 80’s he operated a snowplow for the State of South Dakota. Bill believed in getting the day started at 4 AM, working hard, and getting to bed early to be ready for the next work day.
He loved running his chainsaw to produce firewood. You could often find him in his workshop enjoying the comfort of the woodstove. Bill’s fabrication skills and knowledge of the wood industry led to Bill building and operating his own lath sawmill for several years.
Also, included in Bill’s talents were his snow skiing and jumping when he was younger. Bill loved to help others. He helped many people build their deer hunting rifle. Many people have driven down main street past Bill’s little shop and had no idea of the skilled craftsmanship going on in that shop.
Bill will be missed by many. Probably the person that will miss Bill the most is his wife Irma. Irma and Bill found each other later in their lives. They just recently celebrated 20 years of marriage.
Bill is probably in heaven looking at the rest of us wondering why we are sleeping in so late and missing the best part of the day.
Services will be held at a later date.
