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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.