Larry Insley, 71, of Creighton, SD passed away on Saturday, August 3, 2019 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, August 10th from 1:00 to 3:00pm at The Dakota Prairie Playhouse in Madison, SD. We will be honoring Larry with prayers & reflections on his life & the lives he touched at 2:00pm. Please come & share your memories.

Larry Wayne Insley was born on January 21, 1948 in Akron, OH. He was adopted in June 1948 by Wayne & Vesta (Lindenmann) Insley, and grew up on the farm in northwest Ohio. Adoption day was special and he always said he had won the lottery.

He graduated from high school in McComb, OH and went on to receive his Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science at The Ohio State University, Master’s Degree from Kansas State University and completed his education with a PhD from North Dakota State University.

Larry married Christine Anderson on January 18, 1975 in rural Argusville, ND. They had two children, Aaron Wayne & Stacy Marie. Larry taught at Fort Hays State University from 1976-1980. After finishing his education in Kansas and North Dakota, the family moved to Brookings, SD where Larry began his 15 year career at South Dakota State University in the Animal Science Department as a Beef & Horse Extension Specialist and also taught the horse classes there. He absolutely loved teaching & always said he truly missed the students when he decided to leave.

After leaving his postion at SDSU, Larry and Chris bought a ranch near Creighton, SD in 2003, where they raised cattle & horses. He loved livestock and horses, but especially his Belgian draft horses. Larry received the South Dakota Horseperson of the Year Award in 2012. He made it to his last Waverly Horse Sale this past spring where he sold many Belgians over the years. He really enjoyed watching the horses sell.

Larry is survived by his wife, Chris of Creighton, SD; children Aaron (Olivia) Insley of Kalispell, MT and Stacy (Todd) Klein of Winfred, SD; his beloved grandchildren who absolutely adored him, Shiloh Insley and Hayz, Elli and Newt Klein; and sisters-in-law Linda (Ken) Astrup of Jamestown, ND and Ann Killpack of Fort Collins, CO; niece Kim Astrup of Fargo, ND, and nephews Eric (Tennley) Astrup of Reno, NV and Jason (Jamie) Astrup of Mapleton, ND.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Jim Killpack.