Person of the Year 2017 - Larry Mettler
Larry M. Mettler was born in Wessington Springs, SD and graduated high school there in 1975. After high school he attended Mitchell Technical Institute where he received a degree in Electrical Construction and Maintenance in 1977. During that time, he worked for Sorben Electric in Wessington Springs and upon graduation from Vo-tech he began working for Schwan Electric in Aberdeen, SD. While living in Aberdeen Larry met Renae and they were married in 1978.
In 1985 Larry decided to pursue his life-long dream of becoming an engineer, so he and Renae moved to Rapid City and began his studies at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. That year, on M-Day, their first daughter, Rachel, was born. During his time at SDSM&T Larry worked for Beatty Electric part-time and joined the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi.
Larry graduated SDSM&T cum laude in 1989, and he and his family moved to Huron to begin work with Northwestern Public Service as a Staff Engineer. In 1990 their second daughter, Hannah, was born, and they were soon on the move again. Larry was promoted to Division Engineer and the family moved to Mitchell. In 1993 Larry was transferred to Aberdeen where he was soon promoted to Electrical Superintendent and their son, Joseph, was born. Ever on the move, the family was back in Huron by 1995 where Larry’s title was first New Technologies Investigator, and later Manager of Engineering Services. As the Manager of Engineering Services, he led a team of engineers in developing energy solutions for customers.
Through all this time, Larry remained close friends with Tom Schwan who approached Larry with an opportunity to go into business together. So, in 1997 Larry and Renae became partners with Tom and moved back to Aberdeen. In 2000 Schwan Electric started an engineering division and formed Mettler Sichmeller Engineering. This year, Schwan Electric celebrates its 44th year of business.
All three of Larry and Renae’s children graduated from SDSM&T, a fact that made Larry very happy. Rachel and her husband, Blake, both moved to Aberdeen after graduation to work in the family business. After graduation from SDSM&T Hannah decided to pursue her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Utah and will be graduating in May, her husband Jeremy is an engineer for a gas company. Joseph, their youngest, will be joining the family business after his graduation in May.
Through the years, Larry was active with the local Habitat for Humanity and in 2013 won the “Supporter of the Year” award. He also served ten years on the Aberdeen City Planning Commission. He was also very devoted in his faith and served on the board of trustees for their church.
Sadly, on March 21st, 2017, Larry passed away after a difficult battle with melanoma. A memorial has been started in Larry’s memory called Larry Mettler Family Scholarship at the SDSM&T Foundation. 306 East Saint Joseph Street, Suite #200, Rapid City, SD 57701.