Darlene Hingst
Nov. 8, 1933-Oct. 4, 2019
Darlene Sylvia (John-
son) Hingst, 85, passed
away peacefully the
morning of Oct. 4, 2019 at
St. Vincent’s Care Center
in Bismarck, ND, where
she has lived the last 3
years.
Darlene has chosen cre-
mation and to be laid to
rest beside her beloved
husband Kenneth at Con-
cordia Lutheran Cemetery
in Crosby, ND.
There will be an
hour-long visitation at
1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct
17 at St. Vincent’s Care
Center Chapel. There will
also be a Celebration of
Life at 1:30p.m. Friday,
Nov. 8 at Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church in
Bismarck, ND. There will
be another Celebration of
Life at 1:30 p.m. Saturday,
Nov. 30 at Concordia
Lutheran Church in Cros-
by, ND before being laid
to rest.
She worked so very
hard to preserve life,
while battling multiple
diseases for many years.
Her mind remained clear,
and of course, she helped
to write this story of her
life. Her incredible
strength continues to be
an inspiration to her fami-
ly and friends.
Darlene was born on
Nov. 8, 1933, to Selmer
Carl Johnson and Hilma
Lorinda (Hendricks) John-
son. She was the youngest
of four children, includ-
ing her brothers Henry
Hendricks and Vernon
“Dale” Johnson, and her
sister Lila (Johnson)
Moyer. She was born on
the family farm near
Roseglen, ND, assisted by
the “horse doctor” be-
cause the “medical
doctor” was unavailable.
This was her beginning.
She grew up on the
farm where for nine years
she attended a one-room
country school with other
children of all ages. She
tells us that she was pain-
fully shy growing up.
At the age of 15, she
moved to a home with
free room and board in
Ryder, ND to attend high
school. She was so happy
to have free room and
board that she worked
very hard for this family
to “earn her keep.” She
graduated from Ryder
High School in 1951. She
attended summer school
at Minot State Teaching
College to earn a teaching
certificate. She and others
who earned this certifi-
cate in eight weeks were
given the title “Eight
Week Wonders.” It was
during this time she met
her lifelong friend,
Yvonne Lovdahl Carlson.
At 17, while living at
home, she taught in a
country school for a sum-
mer, a full school year,
and a second summer.
This qualified her to teach
elementary school in a
small town. She moved to
Crosby, ND in 1954 to
teach elementary school.
While living in Crosby,
she met Kenneth John
Hingst, and they were
married June 10, 1956 at
Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Roseglen, ND.
They lived in an apart-
ment at the Pleasant
Homes Motel in Crosby
for 1 and a half years,
then purchased the motel
from Ken’s parents, Frank
and Lydia Hingst, in 1959.
Darlene retired from
teaching, and they operat-ed the motel for the next
30 years.
Born into this union
were Laurenda Ann in
July of 1957, Bonnie Jo in
June of 1959, and James
Frank in February of
1965.
In 1978, Darlene took a
job as a typesetter for the
Divide County Journal.
She later worked as news
editor and wrote a weekly
column called “Alphabet
Soup” until retirement in
1999. She has often said
this was the best job she
ever had, outside of rais-
ing her family.
While in Crosby, Dar-
lene served 19 years on
the Divide County Fair
Board, which she
thoroughly enjoyed. She
also served 12 years on
the Divide County School
Board. She was a substi-
tute teacher for many
years at Crosby Elementa-ry School, and asked that
her own children address
her as Mrs. Hingst while
in school. Awkward!
Darlene was an active
member of Concordia
Lutheran Church for over
40 years. She was a
member of the Esther Cir-
cle, taught Sunday
School, Vacation Bible
school, and she also
directed the Concordia
Children’s Choir for a
time. She was a 40-year
member of the Town and
Country Study Club, a
women’s organization in
Crosby. She encouraged
her children to belong to
organizations by being a
4-H leader and a Cub
Scout den mother.
After retiring from The
Journal in 1999, Darlene
and Ken moved to Minot,
ND, where they operated
a Family Foster Care
home until Ken became
ill. Darlene moved to
Bismarck in 2001 after
Ken passed away.
In Bismarck, she was a
member of Good
Shepherd Lutheran
Church and enjoyed the
company of many new
friends, as well as being
closer to some long-time
friends. She loved to fol-
low her grandsons to all
of their sporting events,
and didn’t miss many
games. She was designat-
ed “Best Hockey
Grandma” by some very
special hockey parents.
She loved to read and
continued to do so daily.
She was a proud Demo-
crat who was never afraid
to debate the issues with
her children.
Darlene is survived by:
her brother, Vernon
“Dale” (Meredith) John-
son; sister-in-law Gail
(Hingst) Kielmeyer;
daughters Laurenda
Hingst (Bob Barazza) and
Bonnie (Greg) Dehne; son
James Hingst; and
grandchildren Lauren
Martin, Nicholas
(Michelle) Dehne, Patrick
Dehne (Dani Roll), Jacob
Dehne (Ellie Adair). Two
beautiful
great-grandchildren, Pey-
ton Michelle Dehne and
Ryder Nicholas Dehne,
were her pride and joy.
Also surviving is her spe-
cial friend of 40 years,
Shari Peterson, who rarely
missed a Monday after-
noon of visiting Darlene
and playing cards. She
has many nieces and
nephews who have al-
ways been very special to
her, and she has been so
proud of. She has many
friends in Crosby, and in
Bismarck who she always
kept close in her thoughts.
She was preceded in
death by: her beloved
husband, Kenneth;
brothers-in-law Earl
Moyer, Terry Kielmeyer,
and Donald Hingst; her
parents, Selmer and Hil-
ma Johnson; brother Hen-
ry; sister Lila; and
daughter-in-law Melissa
Martin.
When recently asked
how she would like to be
remembered, she said,
“Being married for 44 Ç
years and raising a
wonderful family.” For
this reason alone, we are
so very blessed to have
known her as Mom,
Grandma, and
Great-Grandma.
Memorials may be sent
to Darlene Hingst Family,
c/o Bonnie Dehne at 3120
Tyler Parkway, Bismarck,
ND 58503 for a future
memoriam to be given in
her memory.