Duane Zimmerman

Duane “Zim” Zimmer-

man, 80, Minot formerly

of Antler, passed away

surrounded by loved ones

on Tuesday December

27th 2016, in his home.

He was born Duane

Willard Zimmerman on

January 10th 1936 at the

family home in Mohall,

ND to parents Willard and

Esther (Marquardt) Zim-

merman. From an early

age his strong work ethic

showed through with his

first job sitting on his

dad’s lap driving tractor

and delivering milk for

their family creamery in

Mohall.

He attended Mohall

Public School and gra-

duated in 1955. He will

forever and always will be

a Yellowjacket. He was a

gifted athlete that excelled

in all sports. He was a star

for the Yellowjackets on

the gridiron and baseball

field but shined the

brightest on the hard-

wood. He played competi-tive basketball into his

fifties in the amateur

league in Mohall. He also

played softball locally for

many years and continued

to play competitively in

Arizona as one of the best

pitchers around until last

winter. He also loved to

watch sports, especially

football and his Minneso-

ta Vikings.

Shortly after graduation

he married his high

school sweetheart Phyllis

Marie Feland on No-

vember 3rd 1956 at Bethel

Lutheran Brethren Church

near Antler, ND. His work

history is long and varied.

He began as a lineman for

the telephone company

and worked in the oil

fields. He was drafted into

the Army and served

proudly until his Honor-

able Discharge.

These were just fillers

for his real passion – farm-

ing. Along with various

small grains he also raised

beef and dairy cattle

throughout the years. In

the mid 1970’s he and

Gabe Feland purchased a

semi-truck and Little

Deep Trucking was born.

All through this time he

and Phyllis started and

grew a wonderful family.

Duane’s beloved daughter

Joni was first whom he al-

ways called ‘Sis’. Next

came his oldest son Jay

who he shared a love of

turning wrenches. Finally

his youngest son Jesse

joined their merry band

on the family farm near

Antler. He loved his chil-

dren but his heart was

stolen by his four beauti-

ful grandchildren. He al-

ways had a golf cart,

horse, motorcycle, tractor,

or snowmobile to ride for

them. He was quick to tell

them a tall tale from his

past or he would jump out

from around the corner to

give them a jump. Their

laughter fueled his soul.

Duane retired from

farming in 1999 but con-

tinued driving truck for

Souris River Grain

Cooperative and worked

in farming for Bob Artz.

After officially “retiring”

he took a job delivering

parts for Farden Construc-tion. He loved his job and

looked forward to bring-

ing popcorn to his special

Farden girls.

When he wasn’t work-

ing Duane and his

wonderful wife wintered

in Arizona. Starting in

1996 the two of them took

their motorhome down

south and soaked in the

warm weather. In 1999

they found their favorite

spot in Casa Grande, AZ

at Palm Creek Resort. He

relished his time down in

Palm Creek lamenting that

it was just like going to

Summer camp. He made

forever friends visiting

and playing softball as

much as he could.

The other defining as-

pect to Duane was his life

long relationship with the

Lord. He was a devout

man who carried the love

of Jesus deep in his

heart and shared that love

every chance he could

get. Duane had a zest for

life that was unrivaled. He

loved, laughed and lived

like one should. He was

the model for what a man

and patriarch should be.

He will be loved, never

forgotten, and his legacy

will live on through his

family.

He is survived by his

beloved wife Phyllis of

Minot; daughter, Joni

(Mike) Cruff, Minot; sons,

Jay (Karen) Zimmerman,

Minot and Jesse Zimmer-

man, Bismarck, ND;

grandchildren, Kendra

Cruff and Cole, Kate and

Matt Zimmerman; sister,

Betty (Jerry) Nelson, Casa

Grande, AZ; brothers-in-

law Gale (Donna) Feland,

Bottineau, ND and Chuck

Greathouse, Columbus,

OH along with many

nieces, nephews, and

cousins.

He was preceded in

death by his Father Wil-

lard, Mother Esther, Fa-

ther and Mother-in-law

Philip and Marie Feland,

his niece Sheryl Verhulst.

A viewing will be held

at the Thomas Family

Funeral Home on Sunday

January 1st 2017 1:00 to

4:00pm with the family

service to follow. Services

will be held at Our Redee-

mers Church in Minot on

Monday January 2nd 2017

at 2:00pm.

Those wanting to sign

the online memorial regis-

ter or share memories and

condolences are invited to

use the expressions of

sympathy section at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.