Duane Steen

Duane Orvin Steen, 66,

Mercer, ND and Mesa,

AZ, died Nov. 12, 2016 at

Mayo Hospital, Rochester,

MN, surrounded by fami-

ly and friends.  A funeral

service will be held Mon-

day, November 21, at

12:30 p.m. at Bismarck

Funeral Home with Rev.

Pam Power officiating.

Burial will be held at the

North Dakota Veterans

Cemetery.

Visitation will be Sun-

day, Nov. 20, from 5 -7

p.m. with a prayer service

at 7:00 at Bismarck Fun-

eral Home and continue

one hour prior to the ser-

vice.

Duane was born Sep-

tember 3, 1950 in Willis-

ton, ND to Orvin and

Anna (Nelson) Steen.  He

was raised in Ray, ND, at-

tended school and gra-

duated Ray High School.

During high school,

Duane spent his spare

time working with this fa-

ther at the local Interna-

tional Implement Dealer-

ship, playing in the high

school band, and restoring

his Ford Model A.  He at-

tended North Dakota State

University graduating

with a B.S. of Mechanical

Engineering.

Duane married Rita

Ritter on June 2, 1972 at

Ray Lutheran Church,

Ray.  They lived in Fargo,

ND until moving to Aber-

deen, MD so Duane could

fulfill his Army ROTC

duty. He was discharged

from active duty in 1973

and moved to Cedar Ra-

pid, IA to begin work for

Link Belt Speeder. In

1974 Duane began his

career with Montana

Dakota Utilities (MDU) in

Sidney, MT as a Results

Engineer at Lewis and

Clark Station. Duane con-

tinued his career with

MDU serving as Plant

Manager of both Lewis

and Clark Station and

Heskett Station in Man-

dan. Duane continued his

engineering education by

completing the Principles

and Practice of Engineer-

ing exam and obtaining

his Professional Engineer

License. Duane was

transferred to MDU Power

Production in Bismarck

where he held multiple

positions as he worked to

develop new coal-fired

power plants and wind-

power generation. In 2006

Duane was promoted to

Director of New Genera-

tion Development and he

retired from MDU in 2009

after 35 years.

When he wasn’t work-

ing, Duane balanced

studying for a business

degree and raising his two

boys.  Duane didn’t parti-

cipate in sports in his

youth, but following the

sporting careers of his

boys brought him great

pleasure.  With his boys,

Duane discovered his love

for camping and cooking

over an open fire.  Duane

was a founding member

of the Cub Scout pack at

Centennial Grade School

and subsequently volun-

teered as an Assistant

Scoutmaster of Boy Scout

Troop 2 at Good Shepherd

Lutheran Church.  When

his boys graduated from

Boy Scouts, Duane contin-ued to help by volunteer-

ing at the BSA Northern

Lights District office. Over

the course of his life,

Duane enjoyed flying his

plane, cruising on his

Harley, and most recently,

scouring the mountains of

AZ in his Jeep. Duane was

a member of the Ameri-

can Legion, Lions club,

and a lifetime member of

Benevolent Protective

Order of the Elks.

After he retired, Duane

traveled the US,

coast-to-coast, in a

motorhome before finally

settling in Mesa, for a

winter residence.  Duane

sold his home in

Bismarck and moved his

summer residence to his

cabin at Brush Lake near

Mercer, ND.  During the

summer, Duane spent his

time at the lake remodel-

ing his cabin or helping

his neighbor’s build new

cabins or garages.  He also

enjoyed slowly motoring

around the lake on a pon-

toon or having happy

hour with good friends.

When wintering in Arizo-

na, Duane belonged to the

genealogy club, computer

club, and Jeeping group.

Duane volunteered at the

Wood-work center of the

Sun Village East commun-ity as well as the monthly

breakfast, weekly jam ses-

sions, and the Bocce Club.

He also enjoyed running

errands and doing favors

for the elderly on his

block in Mesa.

Duane is survived by

his wife  of 44 years, Rita;

sons Andrew (Leslie)

Steen, Falls Church, VA,

and Laef, Rapid City, SD;

his mother, Anna Steen,

Plentywood, MT; nieces,

Nichole (Dave) Edwards

and daughter Hanna, Ep-

ping, ND; Natasha (Corey)

Bertsch and children

Oliver, Liam and Luella,

Rochester, MN; nephew,

Nathan (Brandy) Simpson

and daughters Kylie, Lo-

gyn and Macey, Bot-

tineau, ND. His aunt,

Esther Lundt, Longview,

WA, one uncle, Grant

Steen, Kenmare, ND.

Duane is also survived by

his  brothers-in-law,

Bruce Ritter, Washougal,

WA and Michael Ritter,

Longview, WA and a

sister-in-law, Wanda Mul-

lin, Washougal, WA; as

well as numerous cousins

and all his friends at

Brush Lake and in Arizo-

na;  and one sister Cheryl

(Bill) Simpson.

He was preceded in

death by his father Orvin,

aunts and uncles Laurette

and Art Sande, Lila and

Harry Olaf, Hjalmer and

Marion Nelson, Charlotte

and Oren Eliason, Irene

and Cliff Holter, Alfred

and Jeanette Steen,

cousins, Jim Nelson and

Dean Sande, Kelly Elia-

son, and John Eliason and

his grandparents.

In lieu of flowers,

memorials may be given

to the North Dakota

Veterans Cemetery or Boy

Scout Troop 2 at Good

Shepherd Lutheran

Church.