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.