Sheila Maye Day was born on May 16, 1947 to Glen and Hazel (Hopf) Matteson at Luther Hospital in Watertown, S.D. She grew up in Watertown attending Lincoln School, Immaculate Conception School and graduating from Watertown Senior High School in 1965.
Sheila married Paul day on June 26, 1970 at Immaculate Conception Church in Watertown. They took a vacation to Yellowstone National Park for their honeymoon and revisited it for their 25th anniversary.
Sheila met her husband shortly after he returned from military service in Vietnam, when they met on a blind date at a race track. They had continued to be racing fans for many years, attending NASCAR races in Bristol, Tenn. and Fort Worth, Texas. Paul and Sheila loved to travel. When not traveling to races, they traveled to all 50 states, many Canadian provinces and several countries. They also bought a camper and camped at many state parks.
Sheila worked several jobs in her life in the Watertown and Clark areas. Most notable were as an operator at Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, factory and office worker at Dakota Style Potato Chips and teller at First Premier Bank.
Being a Catholic all her life, she was part of parishes in Clark, Willow Lake and Watertown. She was most active at St. James in Willow Lake as a Sunday school teacher and altar society member.
Sheila had many hobbies, including crafts, gardening, baking and buying decorations for their home. It was important to her that decorations rotated with each season and holiday. She enjoyed going to craft shows with her mother and sisters.
Sheila passed away at the age of 79 on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at the Village of Harmony Hill in Watertown.
She is survived by her son, Jon Day of Rapid City; her son, Jeremy (Daena) Day of Marshfield, Wisc.; granddaughter Abbey Day of Rapid City; grandsons Ezra and August Day of Marshfield, Wisc.; sister Jenny Kranz of Kranzburg; sisters Laurie Resick of Guthrie, Okla. and Brenda (John) Paulson of Watertown; and many nephews and nieces.
Sheila was preceded in death by her husband, Paul; her parents; brother Michael Matteson; and two brothers-in-law, Kevin Kranz and Randy Resick.
Visitation will be from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. on Monday, October 19, 2026 at Wight & Comes Funeral Chapel with Father Richard Baumberger officiating. Interment will be at St. Mary's Cemetery in Watertown following the funeral services.
