Ernest Stave
Ernest Stave
Funeral services were held Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011, at North Prairie Lutheran Church, rural Leeds, for Ernest L. Stave, 82, of Leeds, who died Friday, Sept. 9 at Sanford Health Palliative Care in Fargo.
Burial was in the church cemetery.
Ernest was born Sept. 3, 1929, on the family farm north of Leeds, a son of Leonard and Clara (Vigness) Stave. He graduated from Leeds High School in 1948, and hitchhiked to attend the University of Minnesota. He worked in Barnesville, Minn. in an auto dealership for a short time before starting a farming career. He married Eileen Paulson, of Pleasant Lake, Nov. 29, 1955. During his career in farming, he also bought and sold machinery and was a crop insurance adjuster.
He was a member of North Prairie Lutheran Church, Masonic Lodge, Elks, and Eagles, and served on the boards of the Harlow Cooperative Elevator, Heart of America Medical Center, and Cenex in York.
He is survived by his children, Bryan, Bloomington, Minn., Douglas, Fargo, and Luther, Rolette; six grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; a sister, Lyda Thompson, Devils Lake; and special friend, Beverly Haugen, Jamestown.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Eileen; a brother, Sidney; and a sister, Goldie Gilbertson.
Pastor Michael Rohrer officiated. Music was provided by Marge Johnson, vocalist, and Dorothy Stuberg, pianist.
Casketbearers were Robert Gilbertson, Robert Pappa, Owen Randle, Nelson Stave, Clair Thompson, and Dennis Thompson.
In lieu of floral arrangements, the family desires memorials to the Leeds Community Center.
Arrangements by Nelson Funeral Home, Leeds.