Doug Dohrer

Douglas Allyn Dohrer, age 69, of Milbank, SD, passed away on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, at Milbank Care and Rehabilitation Center.

Services for Doug Dohrer will be held on Monday, February 19, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. at American Lutheran Church in Milbank. Rev. Robert Hanson will officiate. Burial will be at Milbank City Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Sunday, February 18, 2018, from 5-7 p.m. at the church and again one hour prior to the service.

Casket bearers will be: Tayla and Levi Waddell, Madison Schulte, Hallie Schulte, Jonah Dohrer, Micah Dohrer, Emma Dohrer, and Mickale Dohrer. Honorary bearers will be: All of Doug’s former teammates, staff of Milbank Care and Rehabilitation Center, and the “Whist for Fun” group.

Douglas Allyn Dohrer was born on January 8, 1949, to Marcel and Vernice (Egeberg) Dohrer. He grew up in the Milbank area where he graduated from Milbank High School in 1967. After his graduation, he enrolled at South Dakota State University and graduated in 1971. He played baseball and basketball while attending SDSU and was selected to the All-North Central Conference Team as third baseman. Doug was an avid sports fanatic. His sporting career lasted for over 35 years!

The majority of his sporting career was with the Milbank Firechiefs, playing every decade since the late 1960’s. Doug also played baseball for Estelline, Montrose, Lake Norden, and Ortonville. He played in at least 32 state amateur tournaments. Baseball was second nature to Doug. He smacked 203 homeruns, ranking him eighth all time in the history of SD amateur baseball. He also won titles in 1992 and 1993 as a member of the SD delegation of the Men’s Senior Baseball League. He had some injuries but didn’t let that hold him back. After graduating from SDSU, Doug declined a chance to play professional baseball, instead taking his first teaching and coaching job in Estelline. He coached football, track, and basketball. During the first year of coaching, he won the Class B nine-man “mythical” state title for football.

Doug married his high school sweetheart, Barb Dravland, in September of 1970. From this union, they had three children: Ginny, Chris, and Gregg.

Doug decided to change his career and started working for Milbank Insurance. He later worked for several other private and corporate insurance companies. He married Peggy Dailey on August 29, 1981, in Watertown, SD. After living in Sioux Falls and Watertown, they returned to Milbank and have made this their home for the last 22 years.

Doug not only coached his children, but also was fortunate enough to actually play on the same team. He would follow them and his grandchildren and would attend every event he was able. A statement by the Grant County Review was, “An emotional highlight of his career was playing side by side with his two sons, Gregg and Chris. They both joined the Firechiefs after graduating from high school. ‘In one game we were playing Lake Norden and I was on third base,’ Dohrer said. ‘I would have scored easily, but I looked over and Gregg was on second and Chris was on first, so I stopped at third. It was a special feeling.’ Later the boys found out that Doug did this on purpose so that they would all be on base at the same time.

Doug was a lifelong member of the American Lutheran Church and served on the council. He was a pioneer of the Firechiefs baseball team and the Men’s Senior Baseball League. Doug deservingly was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003, one of five from South Dakota that year. Throughout Doug’s life, he cherished his memories of the guys he played with as well as the student athletes he coached.

Cherishing Doug’s memory are his wife, Peg; daughter, Ginny (Jeremy) Tostenson; sons: Chris (Barb) Dohrer of Aberdeen, SD; and Gregg Dohrer of Madison, SD; grandchildren: Tayla (Levi) Waddell, Madison Schulte, Hallie Schulte, Jonah Dohrer, Micah Dohrer, Emma Dohrer, and Mickale Dohrer; great-grandchildren: Kailur and baby Waddell; sister, Jolene Dohrer of Sioux Falls, SD; brother, Bob (Linda) Dohrer of Wilmington, NC; sisters-in-law: Barb Dohrer of Watertown, SD; Pat (Dale) Hildestad of Bloomington, MN; Karen (Roger) Christianson of Hendricks, MN; Jo Dailey of Clear Lake, SD; Noreen (Dan) McAdaragh of Brookings, SD; brother-in-law, Chip (Bonnie) Dailey of Sioux Falls, SD; and several nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Preceded in death are his parents: Marcel and Vernice; paternal and maternal grandparents; sister, Jean Athey; brother, Rick Dohrer; infant brother, William Dohrer; father-in-law and mother-in-law: Myron and Shyrlee Dailey.