Jennie Minihan, 17, daughter of Tim and Val Minihan, 600 N. Teton Dr,. Brandon, died, Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at Avera McKennan Hospital. Funeral services were on Friday, November 30 at Brandon Valley High School Performing Arts Center, Brandon, SD. Burial was at the Beaver Valley Lutheran Church Cemetery, rural Brandon, SD.  

Jennifer Louise “Jennie” Minihan, daughter of Timothy Peter and Valerie Lu Ann (Larson) Minihan, was born March 6, 1990 in Sioux Falls, SD.  She was a fun-loving kid who had a wide variety of interests and enjoyed so many things.  From baking chocolate chip cookies to working on antique tractors, Jennie never sat still.  She was a pre-school religious education teacher and was a proud clarinet line member of the Brandon Valley Marching Lynx.

Jennie was very active in the FFA program at school, holding various officer positions including serving this year as Vice President.  She was a member of the Brandon Valley Vintage Power Association, an antique tractor club, and a previous member of the Hangin Around 4H club.  Although Jennie was a “city kid”, she loved agriculture.  Her favorite pastimes were baling hay and working with the cows at her Grandpa’s farm, fishing, camping, riding 4-wheelers, running, driving her car, playing with her two Springer Spaniels, babysitting or playing with her cousins and listening to country music.  Jennie loved to play softball.  In spring and summer, when she was not busy playing for the Brandon Valley Girls’ Softball team or her Summer Rec League team, Jennie would organize games with friends from school and the neighborhood.  Jennie was a great leader and motivator.  She loved to help organize her family’s home and activities, doing dishes and packing for camping trips.  Jennie was very generous and giving, frequently cleaning out her closet and personal items to donate to Goodwill or give to friends.  Jennie’s giving spirit has continued through the LifeSource organ donor program.  Jennie was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in.  She would often times come home from school with stories of “getting in someone’s face” about gossiping or putting down others.  She wanted to go to SDSU to be a Dairy Microbiologist.  When asked why, Jennie said, “I like cheese!”  Jennie had a wonderfully fun and bubbly personality and is remembered by everyone for her radiant smile that others said brought them up when they were down. One of Jennie’s many friends posted this on her CaringBridge website: “Jennie was a person beyond words. With her smile she could lighten the face of a person she did not even know. That was the most amazing thing about her. She always made you feel welcomed, and always made you feel like family. No matter what, she will always be remembered as the girl who always smiled, and did her best to make those around her smile.”

Grateful for having shared her life are her parents, Val and Tim Minihan, Brandon, SD; her siblings, Shannon, Marty and Ellie Minihan, Brandon, SD; her grandparents, Carl and Linda Larson, Jr., Baltic, SD; uncles and aunts, Shawn and Erin McCarty, Sioux Falls, SD, Mike and Theresa Minihan, Blue Rapids, KS, Pat and Missy Minihan, Canton, SD, Andy Minihan, Canton, SD, Holly Minihan, Kansas City, MO, Molly Wiley, Canton, SD, Jay and Karla Hunter, Mitchell, SD, Dan and Angela Larson, Baltic, SD, Jared and Evie Larson, Anchorage, AK; many cousins; her boyfriend, Michael Hofer, Beaver Creek, MN; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Jennie was preceded in death by her sister, Claire LuAnn Minihan, on December 11, 1994; her grandparents, Bill and Pat Minihan; and two uncles, Nathan Larson and Jim Minihan.