Twylah Mae (Johnson) Luedtke passed away four hours shy of her 90th birthday on November 25th, 2024 at Monument Health in Rapid City, SD after a brief battle with cancer. Twylah was born November 26th, 1934 in Philip, SD to Jerrold & Hannah Johnson.
She was the youngest of three children and participated in every sport a girl could participate in the small town of Philip, SD. At the tender age of 11, Twylah was diagnosed with polio. This diagnosis shaped the woman she became. After spending her 6th grade year in Hot Springs hospital, hours away from her parents, brother & sister, she said she was one of the lucky ones. Twylah graduated from Philip High School in 1953 as Valedictorian of her class. She then went on to graduate from National College of Business in 1954 with a legal secretary degree. She worked for Rapid City Journal and numerous law firms in Rapid City throughout her career.
November 4th, 1955, she married Harley Frank Loose of Bison, SD. From this union, two children were born; Steven Wayne & Marcia Ann. They divorced 9 years later in 1964. During that time, her son, Steve was diagnosed with brain cancer.
During her son’s illness, Twylah met the love of her life, Martin August Luedtke and they married on St. Patrick’s Day, 1967. Martin quickly bonded with both of Twylah’s children. Unfortunately, Steve passed before Martin was able to adopt both children.
Twylah enjoyed her life with Martin traveling around to local horse shows and rodeos watching their daughter compete. She also enjoyed being the show secretary keeping track of times and scores. Her secretary degree came in handy wherever she went! Not far from Twylah or Martin was their dog, Sam. Twylah always loved having a pet to care for.
What Twylah loved most in life was being a mom, grandma & great grandma. She was very involved in her granddaughter Alison’s life. Marica often called Twylah and Alison two peas in a pod! If Alison needed advice, Twylah was who she ran to. As if a granddaughter and grandmother couldn’t get any closer, along came Vivian Twylah Barbara Besler, Twylah’s great granddaughter who is her namesake. Not only did she have Vivian to spoil, but she also had Addison & Treydon to call her great grandkids. It was meant to be for Addison & Treydon to be Twylah’s bonus great grandchildren as Treydon and her share a birthday!
Twylah will be remembered for her spunk, her tenacity, her courage and determination. She was the most adaptable person in difficult situations and passionate for what she believed in. Her belief in God, country and family set her apart from many.
Twylah is survived by her daughter, Marcia Webb of Rapid City, SD; granddaughter, Alison Besler (husband Josh) of St. Onge, SD; great grandchildren, Addison Rose, Treydon Joshua & Vivian Twylah Barbara Besler; nieces, Vickie Perez (Al), Cindy James, Debi (Thom) Richards, Becky Johnson; nephew, Michael (Sandi) Johnson, and many lifelong friends.
She is predeceased by her husband & cowboy, Martin; parents, Jerrold & Hannah Johnson; sister, Jeraldine Allender; brother, Donald Johnson; and son, Steven Wayne Loose.
In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to Storybook Island (Rapid City, SD).
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.kinkadefunerals.com.
