John Thomas Dropulich, 71, of Lead, South Dakota passed away at his home in Lead, SD.

John was born December 11, 1949, in Deadwood, South Dakota to Lillian (Barber) and Michael Dropulich. He attended grade school K-8 at St. Patrick Catholic School and attended Lead High School graduating in 1968. John was drafted into the United States Army in July of 1972. He was stationed in Germany until his discharge in 1974. After leaving the army, John came home to Lead where he worked for Homestake Mining Company. After the mine closed, John took advantage of Homestake to further his education and seek new job training skills. He enrolled in Black Hills State's paralegal program. Upon completion, he worked as a paralegal for Fuller and Tellinghuisen firm for a few years. After leaving the law firm, John worked at several different places around the Lead area. The last place being Dakota Travel. Before his knees began giving him problems, John was an avid bicyclist putting in lots of miles and enjoying the beautiful Black Hills. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was a bit of a prankster. As his friends could tell you, he was a trivia whiz. He enjoyed many trivia nights at the Stampmill.

Grateful for sharing his life are his brother, Michael Dropulich of Sturgis, SD, his cousin Kathi (Barber) Thomson (Jim) of Sturgis, SD, her children Loren Thomson (Anjie), and daughter Ayden of Cheyenne, WY, Donnelle (Thomson) Frear (Greg) and their children Casey, Avery and Taylor of Piedmont, SD,  cousin Carol (Samson) Panerio of Rapid City, SD and her children Jim, Ann and Mary, and cousin, Mary Samson of Spearfish, SD, and her children Jeff and Laura.  John was preceded in death by his grandparents, his parents, and his sister-in-law.

Interment with full military honors will be held at 10:00 am Thursday, June 24, 2021 at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.

A memorial has been established and cards can be sent to Mike Dropulich ℅ Kathi Thomson, 1204 Nellie Street, Sturgis, SD 57785.

Arrangements are under the care of the Lead-Deadwood Memorial Chapel in Lead, SD.