Delbert "Del" Edward Fortin, age 70, of Redfield, SD, passed away Monday, December 8, 2025, at Avera St. Luke's Hospital in Aberdeen, SD, overcome by leukemia.

Services will be held on Friday, December 19, at Hyke Funeral Home in Redfield. Visitation will be from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m., with a time of sharing from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.  His funeral service will begin at 10:00 a.m. with Reverend Keith C. Kraft officiating.  Burial will follow at St. Bernard's Catholic Cemetery in Redfield.

The time of sharing and funeral service will be both live-streamed through a link on the funeral home's website below Del's obituary. Arrangements have been entrusted to Hyke Funeral Home (www.hykefuneralhome.com).

Delbert was born on September 3, 1955, as the twelfth child of Lorene (Wolfgram) and Victor Fortin, in Watertown, SD.

Delbert attended kindergarten through sixth grade at Turton School in Turton, SD, until it closed.  He then attended the remaining years of school at Doland, SD, graduating in 1973 from Doland High School.  Following work on the family farm, he started out as a power lineman attaining numerous certifications on the job in electrical safety, equipment operation, manhole rescue, defensive driving, fire safety, hot work and arc welding, OSHA training, switchman training, and construction control representative training.

He became a Superintendent of substation construction in 2000 at Great Southwestern Construction, Inc., Castle Rock, CO, building substations in Colorado, New Mexico, Georgia, and Missouri.

Delbert contacted Janelle (Jans) Nelson of Redfield after she had filed for divorce in 1998.  She was also a graduate of Doland High School, and they had ridden the same school bus as students.  Delbert said he fell in love the first time she got on the school bus.

They married on September 2, 2001, in Redfield, and then followed his job of building substations from California to Oklahoma and enjoying what every town they resided in had to offer.  Janelle went back to Redfield in 2009 to do daycare for all of their grandchildren until they went off to school.  Delbert continued to work for power line companies.

He was a Lineman/Working Foreman/Superintendent over a 3–8-man crew for Brink Electric Construction Company, Inc., of Rapid City, SD, in 2002, building subs in Nevada and California.  Del worked for Energy Erectors, Inc., of Las Vegas, NV, building ground-up subs and doing upgrades in Nevada as a Project Manager/Lineman over 4–8-man crews in 2003.  He was a Foreman and Project Manager over a 5–8-man crew for Great Southwestern Construction, Inc., of Castle Rock, CO, doing wreck-outs and rebuilds, upgrades, and building ground-up subs in New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Arizona from 2003 to 2005.

He went to work for Basin Electric Power Cooperative in Bismarck, ND, in 2005, as a Construction Coordinator overseeing construction from foundations to pulling control cable to building power lines. He retired from there in 2014 and went to work for Western Area Power Administration, Huron, SD, overseeing new construction on projects in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana as a Construction Operations Representative.  He retired from there in 2019 and started his own company, Del's Inspection Service, LLC, as a Contract Inspector with East River Electric, working in North Dakota and South Dakota until recently.

Delbert will be remembered as a friend to all.  He was always there if someone needed help.  Delbert was known for finding jobs for family and friends, finding people vehicles, advocating for others, so they weren't taken advantage of, and always looking out for family and friends.  He always made it a point to keep in contact with both family and friends.  He enjoyed early morning coffee get-togethers with the guys before work. He touched the lives of many and will be missed by all.  That is his immortality.  He enjoyed watching "Wheel of Fortune" with Janelle while they tried to figure out the puzzles before the participants.  He could watch westerns all day long.  He enjoyed attending his grandchildren's activities of soccer, wrestling matches, football, volleyball, basketball, softball, and fast pitch.  He was the best grandpa for his grandkids, loving them endlessly.

Delbert is survived by his loving wife, Janelle; daughter-in-law Courtney (Jerad Kuehn) Nelson and children:  Jadie, Tucker, Caleb, AlleRae Nelson, and Huxtyn Kuehn; daughter Amy (Jay) Hermann and children:  Kylie and Kasey; daughter Audrey (Jerad) Appel and children:  Connor, Chloe, Jaycee, and Bentley; and brother-in-law Jessie (Linda) Jans, all of Redfield.  He is also survived by his brothers: Richard and Steve of Doland, SD, Daniel (Donna) of North Carolina, Roger of Colorado, Kenneth of Tea, SD, and Norbert of Clark, SD; sisters:  Bonnie Hiles and Sherry (Wayne) Board of Doland, SD; sisters-in-law:  Gloria, Vicki, Janet, and Shari; special in-laws Belva, Penny, Betty, and Vicky; and many, many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; beloved son Jonathan "Jon" Nelson; brothers:  James, Terrance, and Robert; sister Carol (Floyd) Smith; nephews:  Chad Fortin, James Pat Fortin, Larry Smith, Wade Newborn, Terrance Nordholm, and Dawson Smith; niece Tara Fortin; brother-in-law Kenneth Hiles; and sisters-in-law:  Joyce, Donna, and Dana.

In the end, it's not the years in a life, it's the LIFE in the years – Abraham Lincoln.