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Lawrence Schell

Feb. 28, 1945-May 7, 2019

Lawrence “Larry”

Francis Schell, 74, Man-

dan, died May 7, 2019

surrounded by his loving

wife and children at San-

ford Medical Center,

Bismarck. Mass of Chris-

tian Burial will be held

Monday, May 13, 2019 at

10:00 am, at Spirit of Life

Catholic Church in Man-

dan. Interment will be at

the North Dakota Veterans

Cemetery, Mandan.

Visitation will be held

from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

on Sunday May 12, at

Bismarck Funeral Home,

3723 Lockport Street,

Bismarck, followed by a

rosary/prayer service at

7:00 pm.

Larry was born Febru-

ary 28, 1945 in Rugby,

ND, the son of Peter and

Barbara (Burckhard)

Schell. He grew up on a

farm near Berwick, ND,

the third oldest of 14 chil-

dren. He attended school

in Berwick and ultimately

graduated from Towner

High School in 1963. He

was drafted into the Army

in 1965 and served in

Vietnam until 1967. Larry

returned home from Viet-

nam and married his

sweetheart, Judith Turner

on April 22, 1967. They

moved to Watford City

where they were blessed

with and raised their five

children.

Larry initially worked

for Texaco Oil Co., but his

entrepreneurial spirit

quickly took over and he

ventured into the con-

struction business and

eventually started his own

general contracting com-

pany, Schell Construc-

tion. If you knew Larry,

he was always selling

something and proud of

growing his business. He

also developed and

owned a restaurant and

several convenience

stores in North and South

Dakota. Larry was never

one for sitting around. He

was always busy whether

with work, his family or

in his community. He

served as a volunteer fire-

man in Watford City, was

a member of the Catholic

Church Council, Knights

of Columbus, Jaycees, the

American Legion and the

Fraternal Order of Eagles.

Larry loved to cook for his

family and friends and if

you were one of the lucky

ones, he was quick to

offer you pigs feet, head-

cheese or Knoephla soup.

Larry and Judy moved

to Mandan in 2000 where

he retired. As one of his

last construction projects,

he built their current

home. Larry was very

proud of his kids,

grandkids and being a

Vietnam Vet. He will be

dearly missed by his fami-

ly, friends and everyone

who knew him.

Larry is survived by:

his wife of 52 years, Judy;

his son Shannon (Lori),

Ft. Lauderdale, FL,

daughter Suzanne (David)

Schweigert, Bismarck;

daughter Stephanie Ko-

varik, South St. Paul, MN;

son Steven, Atlanta, GA;

son Scott (Shannon), West

Fargo; and 11 grandchil-

dren: Paige (Stephen)

Walker, Taylor Schell,

Jacob, Lucas and Ian

Schweigert, Carter and

Ava Kovarik, Bianca and

Oliver Schell, Torrance

Nichols-Kraft and Rorik

Schell. He is also survived

by 4 brothers: Fred Schell,

Frank (Metta) Schell,

Myron (Carol) Schell and

Brian Schell; and 7 sis-

ters: Patricia (Dale) Luth-

er, Carol Garman, Barb

(Gerald) Volk, Genny

(Steve) Berg, Carlotta

Schall, Kathy (Gordy)

Boutilier, Renae (Fritz)

Perkins.

He was preceded in

death by: his parents, sis-

ter Bernice, brother Ken-

neth and infant son.

Go to

www.bismarckfuneralhome.com

to share memories of Lar-

ry and sign the online

guest book.