7-4-20 Obituaries
LaLoni “Loni” Kessler
Aug. 18, 1959 – June 25, 2020
LaLoni “Loni” Kessler,
the daughter of Walter
“Bob” Wentz and Rita
(Marthe) Wentz was born
August 18, 1959 in Rugby,
North Dakota. She died
suddenly on Thursday,
June 25, 2020 at the age of
60 years in the ER of the
Heart of America Medical
Center in Rugby.
Loni was raised in the
rural family farm home of
her parents south of Rug-
by in Elverum Township,
Pierce County. While
growing up, she helped
with all the household
chores and took care of
her younger brothers
while her parents were
doing the farm work. She
was just like a little
homemaker. Loni attend-
ed school in Filmore,
North Dakota till the 4th
grade, then Little Flower
Catholic School in Rugby
and completed her educa-
tion at Rugby High
School. Following her
schooling, she moved to
Maryland for a short time
and then returned to Rug-
by. On December 16,
1978 she was united in
marriage to Bradley
“Brad” Tandeski. The
couple made their home
in Cando following their
marriage. In 1983, couple
separated and went on
their own. In May of
1986, Loni married Ken-
neth “Kenny” Kessler and
they moved to Arizona,
where she was a stay at
home Mom and provided
daycare services. The
couple later, with their 3
children moved to San
Antonio, Texas. Kenny’s
work would 8 months
later send them back to
Arizona, then to Ramona,
California for 10 days,
then back to Texas and
then again to Arizona.
Out of all of Loni’s moves,
it was in her home that all
her children’s friends
loved to gather. Playing
cards and board games
was their family’s and
friend’s favorite things to
do. Loni’s hospitality
knew no bounds. In Janu-
ary of 2000, the family fi-
nally returned to Rugby.
In 2004, Loni and Kenny
dissolved their marriage.
Back in Rugby, Loni
went to work in the hos-
pitality field. She was al-
ways able to make her
guests smile. She may
not have always
remember your name, but
she always knew what
you had ordered. Loni
had gift of being a good
listener, easy to talk with
and always first to lend a
helping hand. Loni’s last
year of life was battling
cancer and getting it in
remission this past May.
She was a loving Mother,
Nana, and friend to all.
She may have left us but
will always be in our
hearts and memories.
She is survived by her
children, Bobbi (Carl)
Schaan, Cody Kessler and
Amber Sattler, all of Rug-
by; grandchildren, Alek,
Kage, Kenna, Isaac and
Isabella; her parents, Rita
Wentz and Bob Wentz;
brothers, Wayne and
Todd (Tammy) Wentz, all
of Rugby and Kelly (Jam-
ie) Wentz of Maddock;
nieces, nephews, other re-
latives and multitudes of
friends. She was preced-
ed in death by her broth-
er, Robert and
grandparents, Jon and
Lena Marthe and Walter
and Elizabeth Wentz.
Mass of Christian Buri-
al was held at 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, June 30th at the
Little Flower Catholic
Church in Rugby with
burial in the church
cemetery. Father Antho-
ny Cruz, Celebrant.
Organist: Glenda Mack
Vocalist: Samantha
Wentz
Honorary Bearers: Alek
Collier, Isaac Sattler, Isa-
bella Sattler, and Kenna
Schaan
Casket Bearers: Kage
Collier, Steven Wentz,
Cole Wentz, Dylan Wentz,
Riley Tuenge, Justin
Harper, and Craig Arnold
Arrangements with the
Anderson Funeral Home
of Rugby. Online registry:
Teresa Mary (Brossart) Fritel
Nov. 14, 1928 – June 25, 2020
In the late evening
hours of June 25, 2020,
Teresa Mary (Brossart)
Fritel, surrounded by fam-
ily and under the care of
the Heart of America Hos-
pice, quietly passed from
this life to her eternal
home at the age of 91.
Teresa was born in Rugby
on November 14, 1928,
the daughter of Joseph
and Katherine (Volk)
Brossart. She was reared
on the family farm in East
Barton Township Pi-
erce County and went to
school in rural Barton. As
a young girl she cooked
for the threshing crews on
the farm. Teresa married
Nick Fritel in Rugby on
November 8, 1948. They
farmed in the Barton area
before buying a farm near
Knox. In 1970 they pur-
chased a house in Rugby
and lived there in the
winter and returned to the
farm for the spring and
summer. They farmed
until they retired in 1987.
In 1993 they began to en-
joy spending winters in
Arizona. Teresa worked
for many years at the Haa-
land Home and the
Cornerstone Cafe. She
had been a member of the
Confraternity of Christian
Mothers and the Catholic
Daughters of the Ameri-
cas. Besides raising her
children, which were the
center of her world, she
enjoyed gardening, crafts,
china painting, baking,
making jelly, quilting, and
crocheting.
She loved her family so
very much and would al-
ways put their needs be-
fore hers. While she was
raising her own children,
she was helping out with
grand children. There
was never a moment
where there weren’t chil-
dren surrounding her and
that was the way she
wanted it.
Teresa is survived by
her children: Charlotte
Pollestad Devils Lake,
Dianne (Bruce) Frueh
Walcott; Melvin Minot;
Ken Turtle Lake; Leon
and Kevin (Carol) Rug-
by; Lynelle (Brian) Socha
Boise, Idaho; and Linda
(Kory) Jorgenson Rug-
by. There will be 20
grandchildren that will
miss their grandmother,
Kelly (Jeremy) Olson, Sta-
cy Pollestad, Eric (Caitlin)
Pollestad, Samantha
(Kyle) Siebels, Scott (Ju-
liette) Frueh, Chase
(Nicole) Frueh, Christo-
pher Fritel, Amber Oyen,
Shawn (Nicole) Fritel, Ali-
cia (Gregg) Saure, Brenna
(Shawn) Tayon, Cody (Ka-
rin) Fritel, Travis (Jenessa)
Fritel, Brittany (Jarett)
Lovcik, Courtney (Keith)
Bowman, Nicole (Willy)
Paul, Kassi Jorgenson,
and Joshua, Jeremiah, and
Matthew Socha. She also
leaves 33
great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in
death by her husband,
Nick on May 13, 2017, her
parents, her beloved
daughter Sharon Lewis,
son-in-law Dale Lewis,
grandson Christopher
Socha, grandson-in-law
Andy Oyen, brothers
John, Joseph, Frank, and
Jack and sisters Angeline
Wentz, Mary Fritel,
Frances Welk, Catherine
Fritel, and Magdalena
Wentz.
Funeral services will be
held at Little Flower
Catholic Church in Rugby
on Thursday, July 2, 2020
at 1:00 P.M. Visitation
will be held on Wednes-
day from 5-7 PM with a
prayer service at 7 PM
and on Thursday from 8
AM until 12 noon. Rev.
Franklin Miller and Rev.
T.T. Paulraj will officiate
while Alissa Volk and
Terri Jacobson will pro-
vide music. Teresa’s
grandsons will carry her
casket for burial at Little
Flower Catholic Cemetery
in Rugby. Lunch will fol-
low the burial.
Even though Covid-19
restrictions have been
somewhat relaxed, guests
are urged to observe social
distancing and to wear fa-
cial coverings if possible.
Memorials are wel-
comed to the Heart of
America Hospice pro-
gram.
Online tributes at
Niewoehner Funeral
Home – Rugby 701-
776-6222
Bruce Charles Bjorke
Nov. 26, 1936 – June 25, 2020
Bruce Charles Bjorke
passed away in his home
on June 25, 2020, while
under hospice care sur-
rounded by his wife of
59 years and family.
Bruce had a strong but
quiet belief in Jesus as his
Savior and lived out that
faith in all areas of his
life. Because he valued all
people Bruce looked out-
side himself for ways to
contribute to his com-
munity and could always
find a connection to
someone wherever he
went.
Bruce was born in
Minot, ND, on November
26, 1936. His parents were
Arnvid Garfield & Pearl
Nord. He was youngest of
four. His siblings (all sur-
viving) are Agnes Leer,
Nord, & Lydia Lagerquist
(Clifford).
Bruce grew up in Rug-
by, ND. He attended Con-
cordia College and met
his wife Arlys Ramona
Folland while living in
Minneapolis. They settled
in Rugby for 17 years,
where Bruce worked in
the property/casualty
business. He also served
as a member of the First
Lutheran church board
and Chamber of Com-
merce, and as president of
the school board.
In 1984, Bruce & Arlys
moved to Spencer, Iowa,
where they owned a han-
dicraft business for 18
years. They discovered a
passion for biking. Bruce
biked across Iowa multi-
ple times with RAGBRAI.
Bruce & Arlys also partici-
pated in a tandem bike
club.
Bruce’s rheumatoid
arthritis brought them to
Tucson, Arizona, 18 years
ago. They continued bik-
ing, and Bruce served the
community as part of
Resurrection Lutheran
Church.
Bruce & Arlys have four
daughters: Nita Lin Brai-
nard (Lee), Gina Beth
Fields (Daniel), Lora
Renee Powell (Jim), and
Sara Johanna Mason
(Matt).
They have 13 grandchil-
dren:
Josiah (Jenny), Noah
(Mary), Ezra (Joanna),
Lydia Caudill (Doug)
Zoe, Anthony, Ari-
lynn, Armani
Andrea Chang (Mike),
Evan, Nicole
Avery, Charlie
And 15 great grandchil-
dren.
Because of COVID-19, it
is not possible to have a
public service. The family
will gather together this
week to honor Bruce. Ar-
rangements for a public
memorial will be made at
a later date.
Bruce believed all kids
should have a bike. In lieu
of flowers, consider dona-
tions to the Junior El
Tour, jreltour.org.
This program provides
at-risk youth training and
equipment for biking the
50-mile ride of the El
Tour de Tucson. Dona-
tions can be made
through PayPal using
their email
info@jreltour.org or by
mail to Jr El Tour 522 W.
Faith Dawn Court Tucson
AZ 85704.
Curtis Wayne “Geibs” Geibel
Dec. 11, 1955 – Mar. 30, 2020
Curtis ‘Geibs’ Wayne
Geibel, 64, of Hygiene,
Colorado, passed away on
Monday March 30th,
2020, at Medical Center of
the Rockies in Loveland,
Colorado. Curt was born
on December 11th, 1955,
in Rugby North Dakota to
Eugene and Doreen (Paul-
son) Geibel. Curtis was
the second of four si-
blings. The Geibel family
moved from Wolford,
North Dakota to Boulder,
Colorado in 1961 before
settling in Longmont in
1962. Curt graduated from
Longmont High School in
1974 before attending
North Dakota State School
of Science, where he re-
ceived his associates de-
gree in automotive tech-
nology. Soon after he
completed his associates
of business degree at
Aims Community College.
He enjoyed playing foot-
ball throughout high
school and college, and
his entrepreneurial spirit
was made evident by his
early distribution of Coors
to fellow beer drinkers in
North Dakota. He started
his automotive career at
Howard Johnson’s before
working at Bear Align-
ment in Longmont Colora-
do. He met his soon to be
wife Wanda Young on a
blind date in 1979 at the
Chili Pepper restaurant in
Denver. They married on
November 22, 1980, in
Holyoke, Colorado. Their
daughter Tamara was
born in 1982. Curtis and
his family moved to Hy-
giene in 1984, where he
became known for
answering calls with his
patented ‘Geib’s Align-
ment Service, Curt Speak-
ing’. In 1987 the family
grew again with the birth
of his son Kasey. He and
Wanda raised their family
in Hygiene before he re-
tired in 2006 due to
health issues. Throughout
retirement Curtis spent
time in North Dakota get-
ting to know every cove of
Devils Lake, helping with
wheat harvest in Holyoke,
and working on personal
projects in the backyard
shop.
Curtis divided his free
time between fishing, ice
fishing, fly fishing, deep
sea fishing, bringing extra
people along to catch
more fish, gardening,
snowmobiling, hunting,
working on his ever ex-
panding (and personally
named) fleet of cars,
crisscrossing the country
to watch his children’s
multitude of sporting
events; no matter the ac-
tivity he always took the
back roads. If there was a
favorite getaway destina-
tion, it would have been
the Hobo Hot Springs of
Saratoga Wyoming; if
there was one place that
Curt was always drawn
towards, it was the soli-
tude of Pleasant Lake,
North Dakota. While there
were only a few times
Curt was convinced to
step foot on a plane, he
would gladly recount his
trips to Alaska, Europe,
Cancun, and Florida (the
least happy place on
Earth). Curt was a lifelong
sports fan, devoutly fol-
lowing the CU Buffs,
Denver Broncos and Duke
Blue Devils. No matter
where Curt was, he could
keep anything running (or
at least dragging until it
got home).
Curtis is survived by
his wife Wanda and chil-
dren Tamara and Kasey,
brother Dale (& Vickie)
Geibel and sister Charlotte
(& Wyatt) Beachler,
sister-in-law Karen (&
John) Brennan,
brother-in-law Larry (&
Sally) Young and
numerous nieces,
nephews and cousins. He
was preceded in death by
his parents Eugene and
Doreen Geibel and brother
Dwight ‘Noots’ Geibel.
A memorial of Curtis’s
life is planned for July
25th at 10:00am at the
Knox Community Church.
In lieu of flowers, dona-
tions can be made to the
North Dakota Division of
Wildlife.
Margaret Rogelstad
Aug. 13, 1934 – Dec. 20, 2019
Margaret Rogelstad, 85,
Fargo, died on Friday, De-
cember 20, 2019 at Rose-
wood on Broadway in Far-
go. She was born on Au-
gust 13, 1934 to Arthur M.
and Minetta (Nelson) Dahl
at the Good Samaritan
Hospital in Rugby. Mar-
garet married Charles D.
Rogelstad on 26 Sep-
tember 1953. She is sur-
vived by her brother,
Richard (Bernice) Dahl of
Minot; daughters, Connie
Hager of Fargo and Cindy
Atkinson (Wally) of
Surprise, AZ; and
Michelle Bertsch (Corey)
of Phoenix, her son, Jef-
frey of Thomasville, ND
and several grandchil-
dren. Memorial services
will be held on Friday,
July 10 at 11:00 a.m. at
the First Lutheran Church
in Rugby with burial in
the Persilla Watts
Cemetery, Rugby.
(Anderson Funeral Home,
Rugby)
www.funeralsbyanderson.
com