Irma Natvig ’54, home economics, died May 11, 2022, at Sanford Centennial Hospice in Sioux Falls.
Natvig, 90, of Sioux Falls, was part of the 1978 class of distinguished alums. She spent more than 35 years as head of nutrition and food service at Sioux Valley Hospital (now Sanford/USD Medical Center).
She was born March 27, 1932, to Emil and Kate Nachtigal at the family farm near Academy. The Nachtigal family was named SDSU Family of the Year in 2005. Natvig was the eighth of 10 children and graduated from Platte High School.
After graduating from State College she taught one year at Parkston, completed a dietetics internship in Milwaukee and began work at Sioux Valley Hospital in 1958.
In a 1977 distinguished alumnus nomination letter, Lyle Schroeder, who was then president of Sioux Valley Hospital, wrote, “She is responsible for more than 80 employees. With the size of our employee staff and patient load, we are currently serving 68,000 meals per month and the budget for the food service department today runs in excess of $1 million per year.”
In 1976, Natvig was named Outstanding Dietitian of the Year by fellow South Dakota dietitians.
She also used her position, staff and Sioux Valley facilities to conduct three one-week short courses for food service professionals. The courses were organized by the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at SDSU, and Natvig was among a handful of South Dakota dietitians that helped SDSU launch the courses.
She was an honorary member of Sioux Valley Nurses Alumni.
Natvig is survived by a daughter, Ann ’94/Pharm.D.’96 (Brian ’93/Pharm.D.’96) Leyda, of Sioux Falls; two grandchildren and a sister, Florence Lang ’52, of Arden Hills, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by husband of 44 years, Norman ’49; three sisters, Doris, Ruth and Gladys; and five brothers, Allen, James, Don ’51, Glen ’50/M.S.’52 and Ralph ’60.
