William "Bill" Havelaar

Hudson, SD: William “Bill” Havelaar, 80, of Hudson, South Dakota, died Friday, February 7, 2025, at the Good Samaritan Society in Canton, South Dakota. A funeral service will be held Thursday, February 13, at 2:00 PM at Porter Funeral Home in Hudson with Pastor Carolyn Salberg officiating. Burial with military rites will follow at Eden Cemetery of Hudson. Visitation with the family present will be held Thursday, February 13, prior to the funeral service from 12:30-1:30 PM at the funeral home.

 Porter Funeral Home of Hudson has been entrusted with the funeral arrangements for Mr. Havelaar. The service will be recorded and available for viewing at https://www.porterfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/william-bill-havelaar following the service.

 William “Bill” Harvey Havelaar, son of Case and Dorothy (George) Havelaar, was born February 26, 1944, at Hudson, South Dakota. Bill attended West Branch Country School #20 until the 8th grade. At the age of 15, Bill went to work for various neighbors as a hired hand on their farms. After that he went to work for Willie’s Standard Gas Station in Canton, South Dakota.

 Bill was drafted into the United States Army at the age of 18. He served a tour of duty in Korea during peacetime. While in the Army Bill was trained as a mechanic providing fleet management in the Transportation Motor Pool. He was later honorably discharged from the military.

 Bill met Judy (Perry) Scholl, and they were married in Minnesota and later divorced. To this union two children were born, Lucinda Amy Rae (Havelaar) Costa and Jason (Jake) Matthew (Havelaar) Eie. Bill and Judy made their home in Worthing, South Dakota. Bill went to work at Big Stone Powerplant in Big Stone City, South Dakota. After Bill and Judy divorced, Bill moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and worked for a brief time at John Morrell Packing Plant. He then went to work for Myrl and Roy’s Construction in Sioux Falls.

 Bill bought his first farm west of Hudson, which he referred to as his “ponderosa”, in 1983. He also bought some land south of Hudson and started his own gravel business which he called Bill Havelaar Construction. He loved hauling gravel with his blue gravel truck which had no power-steering. Bill bought a lot of equipment for his business and when something broke down, he was proud to be able to fix it himself. He was a savvy businessman doing all his bookwork himself. When he wasn’t busy working, Bill enjoyed spending time with family and friends.

 Bill is survived by his daughter, Lucinda Amy Rae Costa of Sioux Falls; two sons, Jason (Jake) Matthew Eie of Montrose, South Dakota and Scott Allen Handel of Chamberlain, South Dakota; four granddaughters; one great-grandson; three brothers, John Havelaar of Marion, South Dakota, Pete Havelaar of Rockford, Illinois, and Casey (Cindy) Havelaar of Hudson; sister, Ann Brown of Lennox, South Dakota; special family friends, Jose Sr., Mariela, Jose Jr., Sarai, and Samantha Topete Lopez; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

 He was preceded in death by his parents, Case and Dorothy Havelaar; grandson, Alexander (Alex) Costa; and 3 brothers, Henry (Hank) Havelaar, James (Jim) Havelaar, and Fred Havelaar.