Blair Gades

Dates

Obituary

Blair Gades, 72, of Mitchell, SD, died Monday, August 17, 2026, at Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell. Funeral services will be 10:30 AM Saturday, August 22, at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Mitchell. Burial will be in Graceland Cemetery in Mitchell. Visitation will be Friday from 5-7:00 PM at the church. Arrangements by Bittner Funeral Chapel.

A live stream of Blair’s funeral service can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/@rlcmitchell

Blair Ronald Gades was born in Benson, MN on Sept. 30, 1953, to Ronald and Shirley (Van Horn) Gades. The oldest of four, he grew up there before moving to the farm his parents purchased north of Appleton, MN, where he graduated from Appleton High School in 1971.

While attending Alex Tech, he worked full-time at the Holiday Inn, which he credits for teaching him more about dealing with people than the school ever did. After graduation, he worked at Orton Hardware in Appleton selling and installing milking equipment.

Blair’s career in sales actually began much earlier, however, when he began engraving and selling personalized sling-shots at just eight years old. This lifelong affinity for people and sales led him to start Gades Service & Sales, where he sold and installed cattle and hog equipment. During this time, he also served his community in the Police Reserve in Appleton.

In early 1979, Blair met the love of his life, Lynn Hegstrom. They married June 2, 1979, and were blessed with four sons, the 4Bs, as many know them. They lived in the Alexandria, MN area where the boys share fond memories of fishing with their dad in their backyard.

A business opportunity for what they’d grown into 4B’s Distributing and Dealer’s Livestock Equipment brought Blair, Lynn and the boys to Mitchell, SD in 1997. The ease and popularity of this decision varied greatly among family members, though now all report to be happy with the move, especially with no end to fishing “season” in South Dakota.

Blair cherished his family, especially while getting to also share his love of hunting and fishing with them. He was known for saying “Hunting and fishing aren’t life or death - they’re much more important than that.” He and Lynn worked hard to provide a life full of opportunity and bonding time over shared hobbies for their family. This is how he showed his love - he subscribed to the mantra “Work is love put to motion.”

As families often do, the Gades clan grew with each “B” marrying and starting families of their own. Each new grandchild, of which there are 10, brought him and Lynn immense joy. Being a grandpa, he believed, gave him immunity for his generosity with his grandkids. He’d justify spoiling them with the phrase, “Grandparents can do no wrong.”

Blair was a marvel at many things, including his battle with esophageal cancer. He survived 17 years with a diagnosis fatal to most in a few years or less. Blair used this extra time to shower his family with generosity and as much free babysitting as he could. In these last years, love was plentiful, as his famous ribs have always been.

Blair was preceded in death by his grandparents; his father, Ronald; his mother-in-law, Cordelia “Cordy” (Anderson) Hegstrom; brothers-in-law, Paul (Judy) Hegstrom, Jerry (Cindy) Hegstrom, and Charlie Boe; his niece, Tiffany; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

He is survived by his lifelong love, Lynn; his mother, Shirley; his children, Brandon (Renae) Gades, Brent (Jenny) Gades, Blake (Brittany) Gades, and Bryce (Robin) Gades; grandchildren: Briley, Emily, Alyssa, Henry, Hunter, Eleanor, Avery, Kinsley, Kimber, and Allie; siblings, Keith (LuAnn) Gades, Gail Boe, and Becky (Jim) Gades; and brother-in-law, John (Karen) Hegstrom.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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