Willard Pummel (Term 1976 - 1977)

George Willard Pummel (November 25, 1926 - July 2, 2016) was a World War II veteran, bank president, South Dakota politician and Mayor of Deadwood and Belle Fourche, South Dakota.  Born on November 25, 1926 in Dawson, North Dakota, Pummel and his family moved to Spearfish, South Dakota where he graduated from high school in 1944.  He enlisted in the US Army during World War II and was stationed in the Philippine Islands and Yokohoma, Japan.  After his service, he returned to South Dakota and married Marie Rose Biegler on May 17, 1948.  Two years later in 1950, Pummel accepted a position with First National Bank of the Black Hills (today’s Wells Fargo Bank).  Pummel continued with Wells Fargo for the remainder of his professional career and eventually became Branch President in Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

In the civic arena, Pummel was elected to the deadwood city commission and was elected Deadwood Mayor in 1976.  He also served on and helped chair the annual the Days of 76 committee while living in Deadwood.  Pummel’s mayoral term in Deadwood was cut short when his job relocated him to Belle Fourche, South Dakota in 1977.  Once in Belle Fourche, Pummel continued to serve the public as councilman and Mayor of Belle Fourche and an elected South Dakota State Representative from 1996 to 2002.  On July 2, 2016, Pummel died and was buried in Pine Slope Cemetery in Belle Fourche.