Niki Reiland

Dates

Obituary

Niki Reiland, 36, of Sioux Falls, SD, formerly of Mitchell, SD, passed away Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, SD, surrounded by love. Arrangements by Bittner Funeral Chapel.

Niki was, above all else, kind. She had a rare gift for making people feel comfortable and completely unjudged in her presence, the kind of person that total strangers would open up to within minutes of meeting her. She could make a conversation and find common ground with anyone.  Even through her own hardest moments, she always found a way to show care for the people around her.

In 2020, Niki was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer – so rare that Mayo Clinic knew only two other cases like it globally. Over the years that followed, she faced her difficult illness with extraordinary strength, grace, and humor. She never let it define her. She never quit. Just two weeks before her passing, she traveled to San Antonio, TX for a trip with her sister and girlfriends, and planned and threw a baby shower for her best friend Ellen. 

Niki lived and loved without holding back. She had an incredibly close-knit group of girlfriends she would do anything for, and they for her – camping trips, kayaking, spontaneous adventures, and parties that people still talk about. She traveled every chance she got with friends and family, to Rapid City, the Bahamas, Florida, Hawaii, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Mexico, and Seattle, making it a point to visit her sister there more than once a year. With her partner, Kirk, by her side, she found true love and they had many travel adventures together.

She had incredible style and an eye for beauty. She was always up for a shopping trip, always keeping fresh flowers in the house, always dreaming up her next home improvement project inside and out. She loved dogs (especially her Shar Pei, Franny), loved the sun, and gathering together people she cared about. She was so fun- genuinely, magnetically fun! She was the kind of person who talked friends into new adventures and always got you to say yes to something you'd never have tried on your own. She always took her mom to new places to shop, took Kirk to new restaurants, and came to Seattle with a list of new places to try with her sister Roxy. She was so creative! She always sewed her own Halloween costumes, from an elaborate Taco Belle princess dress with foam tacos to an epic four-legged centaur with rolling hooves. Everyone who met her would love her. 

Professionally, Niki's path took her from nannying to working as a dental assistant, and later into commercial property management, adapting as life required but never losing her work ethic or her care for others.

Niki is survived by her parents, Paul and Tamie Reiland; her sister, Roxy Garza, and brother-in-law, David Garza; her partner, Kirk, and his daughter, Kate; and the wide circle of friends who loved her like family.

Niki's family will honor her with a private ceremony, and a public celebration of her life is something they hope to hold in time when it feels right. For now, they're taking things one step at a time. Niki was loved by so many people, and her family hopes that in the meantime, everyone who loved her will find their own way to celebrate her life, whether that's gathering with friends, taking a favorite adventure in her memory, or simply raising a glass to her. She would want to be celebrated as many times, by as many people, as loved her.