Calder L. Eschenbaum, age 28, of Rapid City, SD, formerly of Lake Preston, SD, passed away on Friday, October 22, 2021, in Rapid City.

Funeral service will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30, 2021, at Lake Preston Lutheran Church in Lake Preston, SD. Vicar Brad Sanderson will officiate. Music will be provided by Rhonda James as pianist and Travis Denison as soloist. Honorary pallbearers will be nieces, Landry and Laramie Eschenbaum. Active pallbearers will be Sterling Eschenbaum, Ty Eschenbaum, Stetson Eschenbaum, Ryker Eschenbaum, Robbie Jelsma and Ross Olson.  The service will be Live-Streamed via the Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel Facebook page.

Visitation will be at the Lake Preston Lutheran Church in Lake Preston on Friday from 5-7 p.m.

Calder was born on October 3, 1993, in Huron, SD, to Jeff and Jody (Wienk) Eschenbaum. He graduated from Lake Preston High School in 2012, and went on to graduate from South Dakota State University in 2016 with a Bachelors degree in Construction Management. After college, Calder moved to Chicago, IL, to work with a construction management firm. The firm later moved him to Detroit, MI, before returning home to Lake Preston, SD in February 2019, where he worked construction with Keith Lee. He later moved to Rapid City, SD in November 2020, where he worked as a finishing carpenter on beautiful homes and cabins in the Black Hills.

Calder was an active individual whose coordination and natural abilities made him an extremely gifted basketball and football player, State Champion Triple Jumper, slalom skier, drummer and artist.

Calder had a brilliant mind. Because he was so humble, most people never knew he scored a 32 on his ACT’s and was usually the most intelligent person in the room. He was a deep thinker that didn’t care about social status, money, power, possessions or what anybody thought of him. Calder cared about truth, justice, purpose and family. His quest to read, research, and learn more about himself and the Universe led him to a faith and unshakable conviction in GOD that most could only hope to aspire to. Calder wasn’t afraid to ask himself the deepest questions plaguing mankind and debate his thoughts for hours; he didn’t care about what people thought about his answers and truly felt that these conversations might plant a seed in that person that might help them find answers later in their own personal journey. At 28 years old, Calder was a true minimalist with worldly possessions and well beyond his years in wisdom and belief.

Calder loved working with his hands and spending time in nature admiring God’s handy work. He enjoyed hiking in the Black Hills, biking, cliff jumping, as well as spending time at the lake. He loved more than anything, spending time with his friends and family, particularly his nieces and nephew. Calder will always be remembered as a giver, he spent countless hours using his talents to help others. Most all of the work on Ty’s house, projects on the farm and projects for others took up a great deal of his free time.

Calder is survived by his parents, Jeff and Jody of Lake Preston, SD; three brothers: Sterling (Courtney) of Lake Preston, SD, Ty of Lake Poinsett, SD, and Stetson of Lake Preston, SD; his grandparents: Arnold and Carol Wienk of Brookings, SD, and Bobby Eschenbaum of Miller, SD; and his nephew and nieces: Ryker, Landry, and Laramie Eschenbaum.

He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Duane Eschenbaum, and Autumn Jungwirth.

The family prefers memorials be directed to the Ty Eschenbaum Foundation.

 

Arrangements by Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel www.crawfordosthus.com

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