Priscilla Kraft, 88, of Aberdeen, SD, passed away on Friday, July 3, 2026, at Angelhaus of Aberdeen.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

Interment will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery following Mass.

A time for fellowship and luncheon will follow the interment at the parish hall.

Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at Schriver’s Memorial Chapel, with a liturgical wake and rosary at 7:00 p.m.

Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, is honored to serve the Kraft family. Friends and family may sign the online guestbook at www.schriversmemorial.com. Services will be recorded and posted on Schriver’s Facebook following the service.

Priscilla Eckrich was born in Aberdeen, SD, on December 11, 1937, to Dr. Jerome and Catherine (Le Master) Eckrich, a writer and poet.

Priscilla made Aberdeen her lifelong home. She attended Sacred Heart Catholic School for elementary and junior high and graduated from Aberdeen Central High School in 1956.

Priscilla took inspiration from her mom and, in college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majored in English and Business. She also got her teaching license and became a teacher. In 1959, she was crowned Miss Nebraska and competed in the Miss Universe pageant as Miss Nebraska. Priscilla loved entering contests for jingles and mascot naming, and even won a car in one of the contests.

She received two master’s degrees, one in English and one in Psychology, from Northern State University in Aberdeen. She taught English and Psychology at Presentation College, Northern State University, Roncalli High School, and Central High School. Priscilla was a 50-year member of PEO, an educational organization dedicated to helping women with low-interest loans and scholarships to complete their degrees.

From her first marriage, Priscilla had two children, Allen and Jennifer. She was a loving and doting mother to her two children, and she will be remembered for passing on her Catholic faith, her kindness, generosity, love of learning, and marvelous sense of humor. She had a number of friendships that lasted for decades.

Priscilla was an eloquent speaker, writer, and very outgoing and social. She was an accomplished seamstress and made many beautiful outfits and costumes for her family. She was a voracious reader, enjoyed cooking, photography, playing the piano, especially Chopin and Ragtime, studied graphic arts in her later years, and enjoyed traveling all around the world. Priscilla also published a compilation of her mother’s poems called The Land of the Heart.

She married James Wyly in 1986. Jim was an attorney and amateur pilot. They enjoyed flying to Lake Vermilion in Northern Minnesota and made many happy family memories there over the Fourth of July. Mom loved a lively game of Othello, working on a puzzle, sitting by a campfire, or watching fireworks from the boat. Jim and Priscilla were in the Aberdeen promenade, a local dance group, and loved dancing together. They were the consummate hosts and loved throwing a good party with lively conversation at their home. Jim died in 2009.

Priscilla married Dennis Kraft in July 2010. Priscilla and Dennis had known one another since pre-school, so they had a long history together. They were both educators and enjoyed spending time with family at Lake Vermilion in North Dakota, as well as in Colorado and California. They enjoyed reading, cooking, and traveling together. Dennis died in 2020.

Eternally grateful for having, truly, the most beautiful, kind, classy, devout, brilliant, doting, interesting, loving, funny, and thoughtful Mother ever, are her children: Allen (Sheila), of Aberdeen, and Jennifer (John) of Farmington, MN; grandchildren: Lauren, Danielle, Veronica, Brittany, and John; great grandchildren Josie, Eloise, and Geneva; as well as many nieces and nephews, extended family, sisters of her PEO chapter, close friends, and her wonderful students.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jerome and Catherine; her brothers Jerry and David; all her husbands; and her beloved dogs.

We wish to express our deepest gratitude to Angelhaus and Avera Hospice for the loving support, comfort, and care they provided to Priscilla. We are truly blessed with teams of angels. Thank you!