John Gustafson
July 11, 1947-Jan. 14, 2022
John Michel Gustafson,
the son of Lawrence and
Larraine (Hagden)
Gustafson was born on
July 11, 1947, in Des
Moines, Iowa. He died at
the age of 74 years on Fri-
day, January 14, 2022,
surrounded by his family
at the Altru Medical
Center in Grand Forks,
North Dakota.
John was raised in Des
Moines, Iowa, attending
grade and high school,
graduating in 1965. He
worked for a time on his
uncles’ farm in that area
before enlisting in the
U.S. Navy and was sta-
tioned in California. He
was united in marriage to
LaVerne Ryness on De-
cember 4, 1970. After be-
ing honorably discharged
from the Navy, he took a
short break and worked
for Western Extermination
before returning to mili-
tary life in the U. S. Air
Force making that his
career, retiring in 2003.
After enjoying and seeing
their family established in
California, John and
LaVerne and two of their
sons, moved to Rugby,
North Dakota, where
LaVerne had family. John
went to work for Heart of
America Medical Center,
both floor duty and office
work spending the next
16 years there, until retir-
ing again in 2020. He was
a very sociable and a
well-liked man, so he
made many friends
throughout the years.
John enjoyed his hob-
bies, golfing, bicycling,
walking, running errands,
visiting, going to church
and bible study. He was
very much a family-
oriented person and en-
joyed his entire family,
especially his grandchil-
dren and great grandchil-
dren. He was just getting
acquainted with his
newest 5-month-old great
granddaughter. John al-
ways made sure his
grandchildren were prop-
erly entertained, making
many trips to Disney
World, Legoland, The
Zoo, etc.
John was presently a
member and served on
the Council of the Glad
Tidings Assembly of God
Church in Rugby. He had
previously attended and
served in many capacities
at both the Knox Com-
munity Church and Leeds
Free Lutheran until their
closings. He was a very
resolute member of the
Clarence Larson American
Legion Post #23, holding
many positions and of-
fices over the years, re-
cently holding the posi-
tion of Commander. He
was continually active in
all the functions of this
organization, as well as
recruiting new members.
He will be greatly missed
by his family, who he was
so proud of and many
friends and neighbors.
John is survived by his
wife, LaVerne of Rugby;
sons, Miles & Blair of
Templeton, California and
Johnny of Rugby;
daughter, Regina (Jamie)
Clayton of Templeton,
California; daughter-
in-law, Heidi Plonta of
Crookston, Minnesota;
grandchildren, Shawn
(Tara) Clayton of
Los-Osos, California,
Christopher (Gladys)
Frosaker of Oxnard, Cali-
fornia, Brook Frosaker of
Washington State,
Jennifer (Shane) Jackson
of Shingletown, Califor-
nia, Danny Jackson of
Grand Forks, Joey (Hope)
Jackson of Moorhead,
Minnesota and Karla
(Rich) Neri of Oregon
state; 18 great grandchil-
dren, Cheyenne Frosaker,
Mia, Skylar and Matt
Plonta, Anthony and Alex
Jackson, Michael, Cal and
Cruz Clayton, Jessica,
Rayna and Jimmy David-
son, Olivia Rae Jackson,
Katlyn, Lucy, Benjamin,
Richard and Lilly Ann
Neri; brothers, Joel of
Winsfield, Iowa, Jerry
(Georgia) of Eldon, Iowa
and Jim (Eunice) Des
Moines, Iowa; sisters,
Kathy Prastki of Iowa and
Linda (Don) Collins of
Texas; other special fami-
ly in Rugby & Pleasant
Lake; nieces, nephews;
other relatives and
friends. He was preceded
in death by his sons, Dar-
rell and Morris and his
parents.
The family would like
to say a special thank you
to Pastor Nathan and his
wife Kathy Steen as well
as the prayer team and
Dennis & Marlene Fred for
providing the music.
Funeral services were
held Tuesday, January 25
at the Glad Tidings As-
sembly of God Church in
Rugby with burial on
Wednesday in the North
Dakota Veterans Cemetery
in Mandan, North Dakota.
Pastor Nathan Steen, offi-
ciating.
Organist: Marlene Fred
Soloist: Dennis Fred
Honorary Bearers: All
Grandchildren, John’s fel-
low employees at HAMC
and members of the
Clarence Larson American
Legion Post #23, Rugby
Casket Bearers:
Clarence Larson American
Legion Post #23 Honor
and Color Guard of Rugby
The Military Honors
Accorded by: The Minot
Air Force Base Military
Funeral Honors Detail
Arrangements with the
Anderson Funeral Home
of Rugby. Online registry:
www.funeralsby
anderson.com