Jerry Thomas

Apr. 9, 1941 – Dec. 4, 2020

Jerry Thomas met his

Lord and Savior face to

face on December 4, 2020.

Jerry was the first son

born to Wendelin and

Dorothy (Balder) Thomas

on April 9, 1941. Jerry at-

tended school in Minot,

ND, and lived his adult

life in Minot, Logan,

Towner, and for a short

time, in Rugby. If you

knew Jerry, you know that

he would bring a smile to

your face, he was always

ready to tell a joke, or

share some words of ad-

vice. If you didn’t know

him, you would become

friends after a short visit

with him. He was a man

who loved people, his

family, and especially his

great grandchildren. He

will be missed greatly by

all who loved him.

Jerry was not a stranger

to work, his first job was

working weekends at the

Minot Fairgrounds, taking

care of Shetland ponies.

He also had a paper route,

helped the bakery truck

make deliveries, and

worked at the Super

Value Grocery Store pro-

duce department. All

these jobs he had while

attending High School in

Minot.

On April 18, 1960 Jerry

was united in marriage to

Judy Hennes, a young gal

that he fell in love with in

grade school. Jerry and

Judy made their first

home in Minot, then

moved to Logan with 3

young daughters, Kimber-

ly, Anna, and Linda.

Daughter Jeri was born

while the family was liv-

ing in Logan. Jerry worked

for Bridgeman Creamery

driving the milk truck for

15 years. In 1976 Jerry

moved his family and his

beloved Angus cows to

Towner, to be the owner

of Jerry’s Red Owl Gro-

cery Store. He operated

the grocery store until

1983, with a highlight of

his grocery career in 1981.

In June of 1981, Jerry or-

ganized a massive beef

burger patty that was 19

feet across and 4 inches

deep. This was accom-

plished by a man having a

dream, perseverance, and

by a community working

together towards a com-

mon goal. The

3,020-pound burger made

in Towner, was listed in

the Guinness Book of

World Records as the

“World’s Largest Ham-

burger”. With Jerry any-

thing was possible.

From 1983 to 1998, Jer-

ry pursued another life-

long dream, milking cows.

He had his first cow

around age 10, and still

had a small herd of cows

upon his death, he loved

his cows. After milking

cows Jerry worked for the

Sandhills Dairy from

1998-2001. From

2001-2014, he was the

supporter and caregiver to

his wife after she was di-

agnosed with cancer. Jerry

lived on the farm until

May of 2020, he had a

brief stay in Rugby until

his death.

Above all, Jerry was a

man with faith and trust

in God, we know this

helped him through the

tough times. He loved to

laugh, play with his

grandchildren, and mostly

tease them in a loving

way. He was the grandpa

that gave the kids push-

ups or other ice cream. He

loved to give advice

(whether you asked or

not). Jerry would lend a

hand to a stranger or buy

diapers for little babies,

he had a very soft heart,

the kind that God can use.

We will all miss his smile,

his laugh, his kindness,

his stubbornness, and his

humor.

Jerry is survived by his

children, Kimberly (Larry)

Westerman, Anna (Hal)

Thorson, Linda (Larry)

Ranistate and Jeri (Jeff)

Schmaltz; 14 grandchil-

dren, 15 great grandchil-

dren with 3 more coming

in 2021; siblings, Mary

Limardo, Lois Fuehring,

Rosie Workman and John

Thomas; numerous

nieces, nephews; other re-

latives and friends. Pre-

ceded in death by his

wife, Judy; sister, Marty;

three brothers-in-law; one

sister-in-law and his

parents.

Due to COVID restric-

tions and limited seating

at the church the Memori-

al Mass of Christian buri-

al will be a PRIVATE fam-

ily only service held on

Saturday, Dec. 12 at 10:00

a.m. and the public can

view the livestream on the

funeral homes YouTube

page and the link can be

found under his obituary

on their website

www.funeralsbyanderson.

com. Father Michael

Schommer, Celebrant.

Burial will be held at

Holy Cross Cemetery in

Velva.

Honorary Bearers: All

Grandchildren and Great

Grandchildren

Arrangements with

the Anderson Funeral

Home of Towner.

Online registry: www.funeralsbyanderson.

com