 Felipe Garcia, III, age 17 of Grafton, North Dakota passed away Friday, August 13, 2021 at the Unity Hospital of Grafton.
Felipe Garcia, III was born April 21, 2004 in Laredo, Texas, the son of Christina Martinez and Felipe Garcia, Jr. He traveled with his family as migrant workers between Laredo, TX and Grafton, ND until 2012. Felipe was a student at Grafton High School and was actively involved in Wrestling. He was a member of the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. He loved spending time with his family and friends, who were a big part of his life. He was willing to help anyone who asked for help. He enjoyed traveling with his family and loved wrestling. Felipe is survived by his mother, Christina Martinez, Grafton, ND; father, Felipe Garcia, Jr., Grafton, ND; twin sister, Bianca Garcia, Grafton, ND; brother, Gabriel Martinez, Grafton, ND; maternal grandfather, Tony Martinez, Grafton, ND; maternal grandmother, Adrianna Martinez, Laredo, TX; paternal grandmother, Maria Garcia, Laredo, TX. Several aunts, uncles and cousins also survive. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Felipe Garcia and his maternal and paternal great grandparents. Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 2:00 P.M. at the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 12:00 to 2:00 P.M. at the church.
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 Ralph Douglas Kingsbury, 77, of Nash, ND, passed away on 08/10/2021 at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Fargo. He was born to parents Harley Kingsbury and Noela "Tuttie" (Glenn) Kingsbury on 09/16/1943 in Grafton, ND.
He graduated from Grafton High School in 1961. He studied business at University of North Dakota and graduated with a BA in 1965 and a Masters of Economics in 1968. Following graduation, Ralph volunteered for the Army and completed a tour in the Second Korean War. He served in the 127th Signal Battalion near the Korean Demilitarized Zone and was deployed from December 1968-February 1970. Ralph married Cheryl Wilebski on 08/14/1971 in Greenbush, MN. Together they raised four children: Kelly Kingsbury Brunetto (Damien; Lincoln, NE), Kristen DeSautel (Scott; Cottage Grove, MN), Mary Enquist (Matthew; Scarsdale, NY), and John Kingsbury (Katie; Eagan, MN). Ralph farmed with Kingsbury Co. for 35 years, retiring in 2004. He also taught economics for the University of North Dakota and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Ralph was a senior researcher and business columnist for the Grand Forks Herald and founder of Kingsbury Applied Economics. Ralph enjoyed reading and photography. He was active in the community with public service at the local, state, and regional levels. He served on a variety of boards and organizations including the Nash School Board, the Nash Elevator Board, the Nodak Rural Electric committee, the Red River Valley Sugar Beet Growers’ Association, the Federated Church in Grafton, Rotary Club and the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education. Ralph is survived by his wife, children and their spouses, and nine grandchildren (Cecilia, Dominic & Vincent Brunetto; Linnea & Harley DeSautel; Natalie & Zachary Enquist; Carter & Makena Kingsbury); brother Bill (Joyce) Kingsbury (Grafton, ND); sisters Linda (Don) Carlson (Meridian, ID) and Joyce (Leo) Staskavige (Wenatchee, WA), as well as an extended family of numerous nieces, nephews and cousins across several generations. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Patti (Duane) Ganyo. A Celebration of Life service will be held on Cheryl & Ralph's 50th wedding anniversary, 08/14/2021 at noon at St. John's Catholic Church, Grafton, ND, Fr. Jeff Eppler officiating. Attendees are encouraged to wear something gold to celebrate the anniversary as we commemorate Ralph’s life. The family also requests that everyone in attendance observe masking and social distancing. In gratitude for all of the medical care provided to him throughout his life, Ralph made an anatomical gift to the UND Medical School to educate future physicians. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ralph Kingsbury Memorial Scholarship: www.gofundme.com/f/ralph-kingsbury-memorial-scholarship . The funds will be awarded to students with financial need attending the University of North Dakota. To share condolences online, visit Ralph's obituary on BeyondTheDash.com.  Alice Jane Thompson, age 88 of Grafton, passed away on Monday, August 9th after a short bout of cancer.
Alice Jane (Miller) Thompson was born on May 4, 1933, the daughter of the late Lynn C. Miller and Inga Josephine (Moe) Miller at Grafton, ND. She attended school from grades 1-4 at Farmington, District 110, and grades 5-12 at Grafton Central School. Jane graduated from Grafton High School in 1951 and worked at the Walsh County Record and the Walsh County State Bank. Jane was quite proud of being a part of the 1948 Parade Band that was the first small-town band to be invited to participate in the Rose Bowl Parade under the direction of Joe Birkland. The band also attended the Portland Oregon Rose Festival! On May 23, 1954, Jane married Gordon C. Thompson at the Federated Church in Grafton, ND. Jane lived in the Grafton area all her life and was very active in the Federated Church, and the many activities of the church women. Jane and Gordon spent many happy years raising their four children on the farm and loved sharing the farm with their grandchildren. Gordon passed away on May 11, 2018. Jane is survived by her four children, Brian (Kim) Thompson of Grafton; Lisa Johnson of Marana, AZ; Cheri (Randy) Cross of Fargo; and Holly (Brent) Meester of Fargo. Eleven grandchildren: Garrett and Logan Thompson, Shana Otteson, Brandon, Lindsey, and Ashley Johnson, Aaron and Adam Cross, and Emily, Daniel and Sarah Meester. Her family also includes 8 great-grandchildren, her sister Betty June Lerud of Grand Forks, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, siblings Grace O’Hearn and Douglas Miller and two infant great grandchildren. Funeral services will be Saturday, August 14, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at the Grafton Federated Church. Visitation will be at the church on Saturday for one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at South Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Rural Grafton, ND. The family requests memorials to Unity Medical Center or a charity of your choice, in Jane’s memory.  Robert H. “Bob” Curl, 89, of Cando, ND passed away peacefully on Monday, August 9, 2021 at Sanford Health in Bismarck, ND with his family by his side. A visitation will be held on Friday, August 13, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Dunnigan-Dix Funeral Home in Cando. A family service will follow the visitation at 8:00 p.m. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Cando with Pastor Rick Craig officiating. The burial will follow the celebration of life and take place at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Cando with a masonic service. Military honors will be provided by the Hal Parker Post #79 Cando American Legion and the North Dakota Military Funeral Honors Team.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the donor's choice of charity in Bob's name. Everyone is welcome to stream the service and family service through the Dunnigan-Dix Facebook Page. Bob was born August 15, 1931 on his grandfather’s homestead in Atkins township. He knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a farmer. He was an only child and often told about his imaginary brother that lived near the coulee just north of the farm. Bob attended elementary and high school in Cando. He lived with his beloved grandmother in town during the school year. He played football and baseball, graduating in 1949. Like many from his generation, Bob loved his country and having lived through WW2, felt compelled to serve in the military. He convinced his dad to let him enlist in the Army National Guard at age 17. His father had lived through both world wars and reluctantly agreed saying, “what are the chances of another war?” Bob served during the Korean War Era. He was blessed to go on an honor flight in 2018 visiting Washington, DC with his veteran son, Paul. It was one of the highlights of his life. Following his service, Bob attended the North Dakota Agricultural College (NDAC), now known as NDSU. He was a fraternity brother at Alpha Gamma Rho, or ‘alpha grab a hoe’ as he liked to call it. It was here that he purchased a J3 Piper Cub airplane with a couple of fraternity brothers and his love for aviation began. He said he wasn’t a real good student in college but he could throw one heck of a party. He loved his Bison football and rarely missed a televised game. After finishing his degree, he returned home and began farming with his dad. This is what he was born to do. In 1958, he married the love of his life, JoAnne Anderson. Although the two grew up just 10 miles apart, they met when JoAnne was teaching just across the border in Barnesville, MN. Bob was dating her roommate at the time, and he and JoAnne bonded by reading the week-old Towner County Record Herald that her dad always sent her. The rest was history. Their marriage was blessed with three children. Bob was an ever proud and loving father and grandfather. His family was everything to him and the feeling was mutual. His grandchildren adored Grandpa Bob and loved hearing his colorful and amusing stories. He had a true gift of joy and always made people feel special. After retiring from farming in 1996, Bob decided he wanted to get back into aviation and made plans to build an airplane. His coffee buddies told him he was crazy and that he would never finish it. After several years and what he figured to be 20,000 hours, he flew his airplane. He painted the name “The Cando Attitude” on the fuselage. In his later years, Bob enjoyed his woodworking shop on the edge of town. He especially loved making wooden toys for kids. His shop was his sanctuary where you could always count on hearing Frank Sinatra playing in the background. He loved to have visitors at the shop and would stop what he was doing to chat. He always had a project going and loved to stay busy. He was so fortunate to have been able to do this right up until the end. Beside his shop was his other sanctuary: the garden. He loved to be out tending to his crop. Once a farmer, always a farmer. He built and kept several purple martin houses. He and JoAnne often enjoyed a happy hour sip of Southern Comfort sitting by the garden watching and listening to these amazing birds. His beloved martins would often start their long, southward journey on his birthday. To him they signified another trip around the sun. Bob was very active in the community. After helplessly watching his father die of a heart attack, he took EMT training and was instrumental in getting the first ambulance service in Towner County. He was a volunteer fireman. He served on the Towner County Soil Conservation District. He was the Civil Defense Director for the county during the Cold War. He was one of the initial members of the Cando Farmers Elevator Board and was instrumental in procuring the ownership rights of the elevator for local farmers. He was the chairman of the Cando Municipal Airport Authority. He was a proud and active member of the Hal Parker American Legion Post. He was a Mason and a Shriner, member of Kem Temple, as well as a member of the Cando Order of Eastern Star. In addition, he was also an active member of the Cando United Methodist Church. He is preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Esther Curl. Bob is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, JoAnne; daughter, Nancy (Curtis) Bohn of Woodbury, MN; sons, Paul (Sara) Curl of West Lakeland Township, MN; Bill (Gretchen) Curl, of Bismarck; grandchildren Alex (Stephanie) and Grace Bohn, Rachael and Elias Curl, and Byrne, Britta, Cullen and Brenna Curl.  Sylvia D. Kalis, 73, of Walhalla, ND passed away Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at her home. Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at the St. Boniface Catholic Church, Walhalla, ND. Visitation from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a 7:00 p.m. rosary service at the church on Monday, August 9th.
Sylvia D. Wirtz was born May 30, 1948 in Altona, Manitoba, Canada to Henry and Delores (Bonaime) Wirtz. She grew up and attended school at Neche, ND. In 1966, Sylvia married Gary Kalis and they made their home in Leroy, ND before moving to Walhalla, ND. She worked the potato harvest for area farmers and also worked at the Pembilier Nursing Center in Walhalla. Things she enjoyed were sewing, needle point, adult coloring books, and spending time with family and grandkids. She is survived by her children: Theresa (Thomas) Polkinghorne, Emerado, ND, Terry (Roxie) Kalis, Tim (Raela) Kalis, Tina (Eric) Radway, and Tommy Kalis all of Wahalla, Trevor (Erica) Kalis, Manvel, ND; grandchildren: Jimmy Kalis , Chalo Polkinghorne, and Amanda Polkinghorne; Reed Radway and Samantha Radway; Kaden Kalis and Eli Kalis; great-grandchildren: Talon Polkinghorne and Nolan Radway, and sister, Jeanette Phelps. Preceding her in death were her parents, brothers: Alvin and Lester, and sister, Annie Kendrick. |
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