Vera Mae (Wagner) Fenner died Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Epworth Senior Living Facility in Oklahoma City, OK.  She was 96 years old.

A Visitation will be held in Oklahoma City at Smith & Kernke Funeral Home, 14624 N May Ave, Oklahoma City, on Thursday, April 3, 2025, from 10 am - Noon.  There will be a Funeral Service & reception at Miller Funeral Home, Southside Chapel, 7400 S Minnesota Ave in Sioux Falls on Monday, April 7, 2025, at 11 am. Burial to follow at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Vera was born December 4, 1928, on the family farm near Bridgewater, South Dakota, to Hans and Hazel (Kolls) Wagner, the 2nd of four daughters.  She was educated in a one-room schoolhouse.  She left the farm and moved to Sioux Falls at the age of 17, following her older sister, Verna, to start working.  The sisters shared a room at a local rooming house.  She worked at various employers over the years in Sioux Falls, including Dickinson's Bakery, Hagger's Grocery, Fantle's Department Store, and later at Stewarts Hair Salon.

At a dance at the Arkota Ballroom in Sioux Falls, she met her future husband, Donald J Fenner.  They were married on June 12, 1949, in Sioux Falls.  After living in a rented trailer, what today would be called a tiny home, Don & Vera purchased their first home on W 37th Street.  There, they raised their three children, Jayne, Julie, and David.  Vera was a stay-at-home mom until the kids were in school. She sewed clothing for the kids, including matching Easter and Christmas outfits.  She was a great cook, where every dinner ended with her many desserts: cookies (always cookies in the cookie jar!), apple pies, or bars. Sunday breakfast was usually sweet rolls or caramel rolls, and the dinner was always roast beef. The house was always meticulously tidy, and she tended a large vegetable garden, canning the produce at harvest.  Once the kids were in school, she started working as a receptionist at Stewarts Hair Salon on Park Lane.  In October of 1977, when Don's employer, NSP, closed the power plant, they moved to Mankato, Minnesota. Vera then started working as a receptionist at Mr. Allen Salon in Mankato.   In December of 1993, following both their retirements, they moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas, for the warmer winters and their love of playing golf.  Vera lived in her own home until 2021, when she moved to Oklahoma City to be closer to family.   At all the places they lived, Don & Vera made a loving home and great friends, whether it was playing cards or golf.

Don & Vera loved to travel.  As a young, newly married couple, they traveled the western US in their Studebaker.  They spent summers camping with the kids in the Black Hills and Roy Lake in NW South Dakota. They bought a motor home as empty nesters and hit the road, visiting many locations across the US.  After Don's passing in 2006, Vera joined group tours for seniors and explored more of the US.  Vera loved to dance.  In Bella Vista, she joined the Sophisticated Ladies dance group, dancing their routines for various groups around Bella Vista. She danced her way into her mid-80s, and she also continued to golf into her mid-80s.

Vera is survived by her three children: Jayne (Doug) Toussaint, Oklahoma City, OK, Julie Karpinsky, Mankato, MN, and David (Jodie) Fenner, Belle Plaine, MN.  Jayne's children, Danielle (Joshua) Mansell and Laura (John) Sheth.    Julie's children, Lindsay Karpinsky, Zack Karpinsky (Fiancé Cortnee Sorenson). David's children, Cody (Nicole) Fenner, Dustin (Victoria) Fenner, Chelsea (Robert) Ortman, Haley (Sam) Ling, and Jay Bayer.  Great-grandchildren:  Chloee Fenner, Brittany Fenner, Adalynn Sheth, Aubrey Fenner, Olivia Mansell, Mia Fenner, Emma Fenner, Harper Fenner, Garret Fenner, Skyler Sheth, Lilly Karpinsky, Jack Mansell & Ronan Karpinsky.  One sister, JoAnn Wagner, sister-in-law Marilyn Fenner, and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Fenner, her parents, Hans and Hazel Wagner, an infant grand-daughter, Shantelle Toussaint, two sisters, Verna Menard and LaVon Dickey, brothers-in-law Mark Menard, Ernie Dickey, Tom Fenner, and Jim Fenner, and sister-in-law Sarah Fenner.

The family would like to thank the entire staff at Epworth Villa Retirement Community, Oklahoma City, for their exceptional care of Vera during her years there.