50th reunion 2018:
Still working but not as much............plan to retire next fall.

Obituary:
Douglas E. Vallis, 71, of Rapid City, SD, passed away unexpectedly after a short illness on Wednesday, September 15th, 2021 at Monument Health Hospital in Rapid City, surrounded by his loving wife and daughters. Inurnment will be in Elm Springs Cemetery.

Douglas Edwin Vallis was born on January 23rd, 1950 in Lincoln, Nebraska to proud parents Ralph Edwin Vallis and Ruby Marie (Brauckmuller) Vallis. He grew up with five siblings; three sisters and two brothers: Lynette, Bradley, Rhonda, Stanley and Diane. Doug has had a paying job since the age of eight, starting with a paper route. He had various jobs, most times working more than one at a time, while growing up, that allowed for him to help support his family. That work ethic carried him throughout his life. He graduated from Rapid City High School in 1968, and went on to attend the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, majoring in Electrical Engineering. It was here that he made life-long friends, through his brothers at Delta Sigma Phi fraternity. Doug graduated from Tech in December of 1972.

During his time at the School of Mines, while working at Northwestern Bell Telephone Company, he spotted a short-skirted beauty who worked as a telephone operator. Doug’s idea of courting was to leave notes on her car until she agreed to meet him. Doug and Shelli had a whirlwind romance, marrying just four months after meeting, on February 5th, 1972. Five and a half years later they welcomed their first daughter, Jocelyn Maria Anne, into their family. Three years after that they completed their family when Meghan Louise Elizabeth was born on November 19th, 1980. Doug loved his life with his family. He was always supportive of his daughters’ activities, never missing a game, concert or play.

Over the years, Doug has worn many hats. He started his career at Westinghouse Corporation in January of 1972, which took him around the country to various offices, until he and Shelli ended up in Denver, Colorado. In the spring of 1974 a job at Gifford Electric brought the couple home to Rapid City, SD. A few months later he began work at Black Hills Power and Light. During that time Doug tested for and received his Professional Engineering license. Even though he made many life-long friends and colleagues while working at BHP&L,
Doug’s long-term plan was to go out on his own as a consultant. He was approached by TSP in Rapid City, and was employed there briefly, but ultimately decided to realize his dream of working for himself. In 1989 Doug started his own consulting firm Electrical Design Consultants, and enjoyed designing electrical systems and lighting projects all over western South Dakota and parts of Wyoming. He worked with his partner in crime, mechanical engineer John Hey. He couldn’t have completed any of his projects without his “CAD Guys,” Monty Baer and Shane Cottingham. He was honored to be involved in the lighting of the flags at Mount Rushmore and the visitor center at Crazy Horse Monument. Even in semi-retirement Doug has been involved in projects with the Rapid City and Gillette School Districts. Work was never really work for Doug. He enjoyed the challenges brought on by these projects, as well as solving various problems for people both professionally and personally.

Even though Doug never fully retired, he loved every minute of his life. Doug and Shelli loved traveling the world together, often meeting new friends along the way that have become constants in their lives. They were able to take each of their grandkids on a special trip, where they could spoil them rotten without their parents interfering. His dream since high school was to own a hot rod. He realized this dream in 2015, bringing home Ruby the ’34 Pontiac. Doug and Shelli enjoyed cruising through the Black Hills, and attending car shows around the area. He recently found a new joy in reading for pleasure, finishing more than 20 books in the last six months. Over the last year and a half, Doug and Shelli have been enjoying camping trips and throwing a toy for Cinder to retrieve at various lakes throughout Custer State Park.

Doug is survived by his wife of 49 years and 7 months, Shelli (Fenner) Vallis of Rapid City; daughters: Jocelyn (Jason) Woods of Sioux City, IA, and Meghan (Brett) Jones of Foxboro, WI; ten grandchildren: Lauren and Braden Woods, Aidan, Emma, Gianna, Veronica, Felicity, Marciana, Isabella and Ephraem Jones; sisters: Lynette (Mel) Melcher of Hot Springs, AR, Rhonda (Gene) Moravec of Bel Aire, KS, Diane (Bill) Anderson of Plankinton, SD; brothers: Brad Vallis of Ottawa, KS, and Stan (Sheila) Vallis of Topeka KS; mother-in-Law Joan (Fenner) Sutton of Rapid City, SD; brother-in-Law Ross (JoAnn) Fenner of Boise, ID; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Doug is preceded in death by his parents Ralph and