Kenny Livedalen
Dec. 28, 1947-Oct. 13, 2017
Ranchers spend their
entire lives searching for a
place where the grass is
stirrup deep, the water is
cool and clear, the cows
are happy and fat, and the
winters are easy. On Oc-
tober 13, 2017,
69-year-old Kenneth Al-
bert Livedalen was reun-
ited with the love of his
life and finally found his
rancher’s paradise.
On December 28, 1947,
Ken was born to Albert
and Dorothy (Solie)
Livedalen. He and his 3
siblings were raised on
the Livedalen ranch north
of Towner. After gra-
duating from Towner
High School, Ken com-
pleted the ND State
School of Science (now
NDSCS) Sheet Metal and
Air Conditioning program
before serving in the US
Army as a Specialist.
While home on leave, he
married his forever love,
Bonnie Fecho, at Willow
Creek Lutheran Church
near Willow City on De-
cember 26, 1970. He then
served in Vietnam, return-ing home on November
21, 1971 to reside with
Bonnie and her parents
before soon finding a
home in Towner where
Ken settled in to work at P
& H Motors.
Shortly after the birth of
their first child, the family
moved to the Livedalen
Ranch in the sandhills
north of Towner, where
they raised their three
children. In the late 70’s,
Ken left P & H Motors to
pursue his ranching
dream full time on the
family ranch north of
Towner. After the heart-
break of selling his cow
herd in 2011 due to flood-
ed hay land, he continued
to stay involved in the
ranching business part
time. Though it’s not a
get-rich kind of career,
ranching truly made him
happy and he took great
pride in caring for his
family’s land and beef cat-
tle herd.
Ken relished visiting
with family and friends
and would always jump
in with a helping hand
when he saw a need. He
loved telling us “I’ll de-
cide” when any decision
was required; and en-
couraging us to “Git’r
done” when there were
things that needed doing.
He truly enjoyed his an-
nual fishing trips to Ca-
nada with his good
friends, and even earned a
Manitoba Master Angler
certificate by catching a
38-inch Lake Trout in Kis-
sissing Lake. One of his
favorite parts of these
trips was sharing the
stories with his family
when he returned home
each year.
Since the fall of 2014
when Bonnie was diag-
nosed with recurrent
Ovarian cancer, he has
been faithfully glued to
her side. Together, they
weathered the storm until
Bonnie passed away July
10, 2017, leaving him
heartbroken and lonely,
despite the best efforts of
family and friends. He
was a lifetime member of
the North Dakota
Firemen’s Association, a
member of Zion Lutheran
Church, and a former
McHenry County Com-
missioner.
Ken was predeceased
by his parents and wife,
Bonnie. Though we know
he’s dancing with Bonnie
again, he leaves a hole in
the hearts of his daughters
Brenda (Kevin) Heilman
of Rugby and Kelly (Phil)
Livedalen of Towner; son
Shane (Rhonda) Livedalen
of Rugby; brother, Roger
(Linda) Livedalen of
Towner; sisters Myrtice
Bailey of Towner and
Gloria (Gerald) Kurtyka of
Rugby; his 11 grandchil-
dren: Kaycee (Derek),
Allison, Peyton, Cade,
Nathan, Kyra, Mikaylee,
Maci, Royanne, Clare, and
Kreagan; numerous nieces
and nephews; and many,
many caring friends and
family.
Funeral services: will
be held at 10:00 a.m. Fri-
day, October 20th at Zion
Lutheran Church in
Towner with burial in the
Union Cemetery, Towner.
Pastor Linda Wimmer
and Wally Fretland, offici-ating.
Visitation: will be from
5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Thurs-
day with a prayer service
and sharing of memories
beginning at 7:00 p.m. at
the Zion Lutheran Church
in Towner.
Arrangements with the
Anderson Funeral Home
of Towner. Online regis-
try: www.funeralsby
anderson.com