Longtime state leader Gene Abdallah has died

Nov.  2, 2019

Former U.S. Marshal, South Dakota Highway Patrol superintendent and longtime state legislator Gene Abdallah has died.

He was 83.

For a full obituary and information on arrangements, click here.

Abdallah served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2001 to 2002 and from 2011 to 2012 as well as in the South Dakota Senate from 2002 to 2010.

When he was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2011, it was said that in his nearly 50 years of public service “perhaps no South Dakotan has had more of an impact on law enforcement than Gene.”

The youngest of nine children, Abdallah joined the South Dakota Air National Guard in 1954 and served until 1962, beginning his law enforcement career at the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Department in 1960 as a county jailer. He worked his way up to chief deputy sheriff.

He stepped away temporarily from law enforcement in 1969 and became the top salesperson at SoDak Distributors in Sioux Falls.

“This position required Gene to travel every corner of the state in order to call on accounts in cities large and small,” his Hall of Fame induction said. “It was during this time that Gene began to develop close friendships with countless South Dakotans scattered throughout the state. These connections and friendships would pay dividends for Gene’s charitable works in the years to come.”

In 1982, Abdallah gave up his private sector career to return to law enforcement as South Dakota’s 17th U.S. marshal, appointed by President Ronald Reagan. He was reappointed multiple times before retiring in 1994 as one of the longest-serving federal marshals in U.S. history.

“Gene’s tremendous influence with the United States Marshal’s Headquarters in Washington, D.C., resulted in his fellow marshals giving him the nickname ‘M.O.U.’ or ‘Marshal of the Universe,’ ” his induction said.

After retiring from the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Abdallah was appointed in 1995 by Gov. Bill Janklow to serve as the superintendent of the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

He served until 2000 and was instrumental in equipping the Highway Patrol with modern, sophisticated equipment.

“Because of Gene’s foresight, the South Dakota Highway Patrol is now prepared to handle nearly any major law enforcement emergency or disaster,” his Hall of Fame induction said.

“Under his remarkable leadership, drug dogs were enlisted for the first time on a statewide level to assist our educational professionals with protecting our children and our schools from dangerous narcotics. And, through his relentless lobbying efforts, Gene was able to dramatically increase the base pay of South Dakota’s troopers to a level that now allows our state to attract and retain some of best and brightest troopers in the United States today.”

Abdallah’s legacy of supporting law enforcement lives on through an event he created in 1982.

Early in his career as a U.S. marshal, Abdallah used his statewide connections to organize an annual event where law enforcement could come together. That event, which had 53 attendees its first year, has grown to become what’s believed to be the largest gathering of its kind in the nation with nearly 2,000 guests.

This year’s South Dakota Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner will be Nov. 13 and feature retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre – an event Abdallah was continuing to help organize until the day he died.

“As the law enforcement appreciation dinner grew in popularity, Gene decided to combine his dedication to law enforcement with his lifelong devotion to needy children. In doing so, Gene personally called upon countless businesses throughout the state to support the law enforcement event with donations to children’s charities,” his induction said.

“As a result of Gene’s innovation, tens of thousands of dollars are donated each year to local children’s charities in the name of law enforcement. Incredibly, through his law enforcement appreciation dinner, Gene has now raised millions of dollars for needy children throughout South Dakota.”

In the 1980s, Abdallah also helped found the well-known Christmas charity Sioux Falls Cares, which donates significant amounts of food, clothing and toys every holiday season to families in need.

His induction to the South Dakota Hall of Fame ends with this quote from former Gov. Janklow:

“Someday, years from now, historians will rediscover Gene Abdallah in the files. From all the official documents, they will learn a lot about him and discover both what most people know about Gene and what most people never knew about him. These historians will come to know that behind the biggest badge in South Dakota was the biggest heart in South Dakota.”

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Longtime state leader Gene Abdallah has died

“Perhaps no South Dakota has had more of an impact on law enforcement than Gene.” South Dakota has lost a legend in Gene Abdallah. Our condolences to all who loved him.

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