Claytus J. Mattern
Nov. 17, 1942 – Oct. 23, 2020
Claytus J. Mattern, age
77 of Rugby, North Dakota
died Friday, October 23,
2020 at the Sanford
Health Center in Fargo,
North Dakota. He was
born to Peter and Eliza-
beth (Jaeger) Mattern on
November 17, 1942 at the
Good Samaritan Hospital
in Rugby.
Claytus was raised in
the rural farm home of his
parents, north of Rugby
and graduated from Rug-
by High School, the class
of 1960 and furthered his
agriculture education for a
year in Fargo. On May 18,
1963, he was united in
marriage to Ilene Black at
St. Anselm’s Catholic
Church in Fulda, North
Dakota. The couple made
their home on a farm in
Meyer Township, Pierce
County where they raised
their family of four boys.
As a young man, he
would go south with his
parents to do custom
combining there, worked
for Schultz & Linsay Con-
struction, drove semi for
his brother-in-law, Orris
Halvorson of Pleasant
Lake Grain. Later he
worked for Bickler’s Jack
& Jill where he learned
the meat cutting trade
which eventually led him
to start his own business
out at the farm. He and
Ilene worked the butcher
shop for the next 40 years,
developing an area repu-
tation for their sausage
along with other products.
If not enough to keep him
out of trouble, he farmed
and ranched from 1965 to
2017 when he
semi-retired in words
only!
In March of 2019, he
was diagnosed with canc-
er, but it never stopped
him from enjoying life
and people. On July 4,
2020 one of his highlights
was to drive his John
Deere 4020 in the parade
which, his son Lawrence
and his sons restored for
Claytus in 2019. He was
continually active in the
Rugby Community, a
member of Little Flower
Catholic Church, the
Knights of Columbus and
with the Cursillo pro-
grams in Harvey and Bel-
court. He enjoyed hunt-
ing and fishing and was
well known for his out of
proportion stories and
never forgot a joke. At a
gathering, if you did not
know Claytus at first, you
would know him before
you left, this was his gift
to all his many friends, he
never forgot you. He was
a great loving husband, fa-
ther, grandfather, friend
and especially enjoyed
teasing Ilene.
Claytus is survived by
his wife, Ilene of 56 years;
four sons, Vince,
Lawrence (Debbie) Steven
(Vita), all of Rugby and
LeRoy (Tamara) of Willow
City; 10 grandchildren,
Rachael, Ashley (Micha-
el), Erica (Keith), Christy
(Lee), Matthew, Carson,
Katelyn, Tyler (Jacelyn),
Jesse and Aleah; 7
great-grandchildren; a
brother, Kenneth of Rug-
by; a sister, Diane Bur-
khart of New Kensington,
PA; former
daughter-in-law, Bonnie
Mattern; several nieces,
nephews, other relatives
and a host of friends. He
is preceded in death by
sisters, Donna (Walt) Win-
son & Irene (Orris) Hla-
vorson; brother-in-law,
Ray Burkhart;
sister-in-law, Wanda Mat-
tern; nephews, Wayne
Mattern and Tim Thorp;
and his parents.
For the safety of all,
please be observant of the
Covid-19 restrictions in-
cluding social distancing,
hand sanitizing, wearing a
mask and staying at home
if not feeling well for the
visitation and funeral ser-
vice. Seating and spacing
will be monitored.
Mass of Christian Buri-
al will be held at 2:00
p.m. Thursday, November
5th at the Little Flower
Catholic Church in Rugby
with burial in the church
cemetery.
Visitation will be held
from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednes-
day with a rosary & vigil
prayer service beginning
at 7 p.m. There will be re-
viewal on Thursday from
9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. all
in all in the Anderson
Funeral Home, Rugby.
There will be no reviewal
in the church on Thurs-
day.
Music: Richard Bisch-
off, Steve Eckhart & Leo-
nard Keplin
Honorary Bearers: All
grand &
great-grandchildren and
the coffee boys
Casket Bearers:
Matthew Mattern, Carson
Mattern, Tyler Mattern,
Jesse Mattern, Michel
Houim and Lee Zinck