Visitation: Visitation, with family present, will be Friday, June 27th from 5-7 p.m. at Anderson Funeral Home in Canton, SD. 

Service: Celebration of Lynn’s Life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 28th at Romsdal Lutheran Church, rural Hudson, SD. 

Lynn Rodway was born on November 23, 1945, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the son of Arthur and Loeda (Sogn) Rodway. He passed away peacefully at home under hospice care on Tuesday morning, June 3, 2025, at the age of 79.

Lynn grew up on the family farm south of Canton, where he spent his early years helping with livestock, crop farming, and custom harvesting. He attended Highland District #24 country school through the 8th grade and graduated from Canton High School in 1963. Lynn then enrolled at Southern State College, completing a one-year course in auto mechanics before pursuing inhalation therapy training at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls. He completed his clinical training at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, in April 1967.

On August 12, 1967, Lynn married Charlotte Knutson. That same year, in November, he entered the U.S. Army. He completed basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington, and was assigned to the Critical Care Unit of Reynolds Army Hospital at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After being honorably discharged in 1969, Lynn and Charlotte returned to South Dakota and settled in Sioux Falls, where Lynn worked for Dr. Robert Van Demark for over three years.

While he pursued his medical career, Lynn’s love for farming never waned. On their drive back to South Dakota, he made a special stop in Kansas to purchase a Massey tractor and plow, which he had delivered to begin farming alongside his father. Every spring, Lynn would remark with joy, “Smell that fresh dirt…soon to be ready to be planted for another year’s crop.” In 1977, the family moved to the Canton area, and a year later, they built a home on an acreage of his parents’ farm. In 1985, Lynn joined the staff at the Veterans Hospital in Sioux Falls, where he worked until his retirement in 1996.

Throughout his life, Lynn enjoyed working on old cars and drag racing at Thunder Valley Dragway with Arlo. He loved traveling throughout the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska in search of antique treasures, sometimes finding them, sometimes not, but always enjoying the hunt. For many years, he and Charlotte were deeply involved in 4-H, helping their daughters prepare their sheep and exhibits for 4-H Days. In retirement, Lynn rarely missed his morning coffee and conversations at Laurie’s Coffee Shop in Canton, and he looked forward to farm shows, fall pioneer power shows, and musicals at the Washington Pavilion.

Lynn especially cherished time spent outdoors, working on the acreage, fishing with friends, line dancing, and spending countless hours mowing the yard, often until sunset. He treasured fishing trips to Canada, visits to Montana with his brother Arlo and family, trips to Virginia to visit Andrea and family, his brother Loren’s family, as well as many family annual getaways to the Black Hills. He also enjoyed accompanying Charlotte on her business trips to California, Texas, Minneapolis, and Arizona.

Lynn and Charlotte were lifelong members of Romsdal Lutheran Church, where he served on the church council and taught Sunday school, a role he loved. He also gave his time to the Moe Parish Park Board and the Moe Parish July 4th Committee, fondly remembering summer evenings at the park filled with ball games, grilled hot dogs, homemade treats, and kids lined up for pop and candy at the Snack Shack — simple joys that brought the whole community together.

Grateful for having shared his life are his wife of 57 years, Charlotte; his daughter Angie and her fiancé Roland Loudenburg, along with grandchildren Alexis Kuiper and Jaxon Josephson; and his daughter Andrea (Matthew) Elmore, along with granddaughter Charlie Elmore. He is also survived by his brother Loren (Carolyn) Rodway, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Lynn was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur and Loeda; his infant sister Lois; his brother Arlo Rodway; and his sister LeAnn Orr.

A Celebration of Lynn’s Life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 28th at Romsdal Lutheran Church, rural Hudson, SD.  Visitation, with family present, will be Friday, June 27th from 5-7 p.m. at Anderson Funeral Home in Canton, SD. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Romsdal Lutheran Church.