South Dakota Farmers Union members are mourning the passing of their longest serving President. Current President Doug Sombke says Ben Radcliffe who served as President from 1961 to 1981 died Tuesday at the age of 97.
Sombke says he learned a lot from Radcliffe.
Radcliffe also served as South Dakota State Representative from 1954 to 1962, was Chairman of the National Farmers Union’s Executive Board from 1972 to 1978, was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame and South Dakota Cooperative Hall of Fame, both in 1997 and was named as South Dakota Farmers Union President Emeritus in 1981 for life. Funeral Services are pending for Radcliffe who lived in Huron.