Otto Paul "Sonny" Friske

Click here to view Sonny's Liturgical Wake service.

Click here to view Sonny's Mass of Christian burial.

Otto “Sonny” Friske, 91, of Aberdeen, passed away Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at ManorCare Health Services in Aberdeen.

Mass of Christian burial will be 10:30 a.m., Monday, May 21, 2018 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 409 2nd Avenue NE, Aberdeen, with Father Michael Griffin as celebrant.

Burial, with military rites, follows at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery.

Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen is handling arrangements.

Visitation will be 3-5 p.m., Sunday, at the mortuary, followed by a liturgical wake service and Knights of Columbus rosary at 5:00 p.m. Visitation continues one hour before Mass at the church on Monday.

Friends may sign Sonny’s online guestbook and view his service via the live stream service link at www.schriversmemorial.com.

Otto Paul “Sonny” Friske was born February 13, 1927 to Jakob and Magdalena (Eisenbeis) Friske in Aberdeen, SD.  This is the area where he was raised and attended school, graduating from Aberdeen Central High School with the Class of 1945.

Following graduation, Sonny enlisted in the military and served his country as Seaman First Class in the United States Navy from July 23, 1945 until August 15, 1946, when he was honorably discharged.

Otto was united in marriage to Apolonia “Appie” Ell on June 12, 1947 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Aberdeen.  Their union was blessed with three children:  Nancy, Mary, and Dan.  The family made Aberdeen their home, where Sonny owned and operated Friske Plumbing and Heating until 1989.  Sonny and Appie shared over 64 years of marriage before she passed away on November 7, 2011.  Sonny continued residing in Aberdeen until the time of his death.

Sonny was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where he served for a number of years as a lector for daily Mass.  He was also a Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus member.

In his spare time Sonny enjoyed bowling and fishing.  He especially loved entertaining family and friends at his and Appie’s cabin on Richmond Lake.

Grateful to have shared in Sonny’s life are his children:  Nancy (Ken) Tiffany of Aberdeen, Mary (Dan) Culey of Sioux Falls, SD and Dan Friske (fiancée Virginia) of Snohomish, WA; three grandchildren:  Aimee Okerstrom, Bailey Friske and Ryan Friske; two great-grandchildren, Zachary and Garret Okerstrom; one great-great-grandchild, Hunter Chaney; and one brother, Robert Friske of Aberdeen.

Sonny was preceded in death by his wife, Appie; his parents, Jakob and Magdalena; and one sister, Eleanor Graf.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to the Aberdeen Catholic Foundation, 202 South Main St, Suite 314, Aberdeen, Make-A-Wish Foundation of South Dakota, 1400 West 17th Street, Sioux Falls, SD  57104, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, PO Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148-0142.

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