Dick Steckley’s wife was with him last Veterans Day at Sanford USD Medical Center when a group of volunteers arrived and gave him a red, white and blue prayer shawl in recognition of his military service.
Steckley, a farmer and seed salesman in the Geddes, South Dakota, area, was in the final stages of his life when the volunteers – like Steckley, also military veterans – visited the room and presented him with the shawl.
Angie, Dick Steckley’s wife of 60 years, recounted the visit to family members as they gathered throughout the day, including their daughter, Sally Polak.
The Sioux Falls Veteran Employee Business Resource Group does this every year on Veterans Day, taking shawls to veterans who are hospitalized. On Nov. 11, 2025, this group delivered shawls to about 40 veterans, according to Riley Theel, the director of communications services at Sanford who leads the group.
The group buys the yarn and then turns it over to their teams of volunteers to knit the shawls. These teams then organize efforts to distribute the shawls to veterans.
“They take them to people who would much rather be out and involved in Veterans Day events,” Theel said. “We make sure to make connections with them. We thank them for their service. It’s always a very emotional experience. Usually, the families and patients are in tears.”
Memorable visit
In the case of Dick Steckley and his family, the gift of the shawl could not have been more well-aimed or well-timed.
“It was an unexpected gesture. It really took us off-guard,” Polak said. “My mom and dad were very appreciative that somebody from Sanford would recognize veterans in this way.”
Steckley passed away later that night, a little after 11. Through the eyes of the family, the morning visit from the veterans was a memorably heartwarming part of a difficult day.
“We realized how many people were behind the gesture,” Polak said. “It involved a lot of people who wouldn’t be doing it if their hearts weren’t in it. These are people you don’t even know who are taking the time to make the shawls. You would have to have a passion for recognizing veterans to get that involved in a project like this. That kind of support meant so much to us.”
A sense of calling
That is the message Theel’s group wants to send. Essentially, the prayer shawls can serve as a reminder to veterans that their service is appreciated and remembered.
Dick Steckley, who enlisted in January of 1963, was a military policeman in Orleans, France. He was honorably discharged in October of 1964 and then continued on in an army reserve role until April of 1969.
“He felt a sense of calling to do the military service,” Polak said. “He wanted to serve his country and defend the freedom and liberty that we sometimes take for granted.”
The family felt strongly enough about his connection to the military to make the shawl part of the funeral.
“We appreciated the shawl to the point where we draped it over the casket,” Polak said. “Mom wanted to display it and make sure it was visible.”
Coupled with military rights at the cemetery, it was a touching sendoff for family members, who sent thank yous to Theel, as well as the veterans who visited him and those who knitted the shawl.
“We wanted them to know their support meant a lot,” Polak said. “That’s especially true when you consider that at the time they delivered it, we did not know it was going to be his last day. We wanted them to know it meant a whole lot more to us than many people might realize.”
Learn more
- Fellow veterans, volunteers gift shawls to hospitalized vets
- Veteran honored with end-of-life pinning ceremony
- Wellness Center teammates take honor flight together
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Posted In Community Impact, Foundation, Sioux Falls, Veterans
