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Gene Sjaastad

Aug. 12, 1931-Oct. 20, 2019

Gene Sjaastad, 88,

Minot, passed away on

October 20, 2019, at Edge-

wood Memory Care in

Minot after a long battle

with Alzheimer’s disease.

Eugene Howard “Gene”

Sjaastad was born, the

middle child, to Elmer

and Mildred (Christian)

Sjaastad on August 12,

1931 in Fergus Falls, Min-

nesota. The family moved

to Minot shortly after he

was born.

Gene (Dad) was a life-

long resident of Minot

and graduated from

Model High School in

1950. A gifted athlete, he

participated in track, foot-

ball and basketball at

Model. Dad was especial-

ly proud to be a member

of the Model Basketball

Team which won the

State Championship in

1948, playing with his

brother Gerald and future

brother-in-law Bill, then

winning again in 1950.

Dad made many lifelong

friends at Model, but most

importantly, he met the

love of his life, our moth-

er, Patricia Stevick. They

were married in 1951, and

together they raised their

six children.

A man of many in-

terests and talents, dad

loved doing carpentry and

rock work. He learned his

skills at a young age, from

his father, helping him

build two houses on Nor-

mal Street where they

lived. As a young hus-

band and father, he built

our family home on

Northwest Avenue in

Minot and later helped

build two cabins at Lake

Metigoshe. Many of our

family’s best memories

were made at the lake.

Dad and mom spent many

hours together over the

years, scouring fields for

the perfect rocks for dad

to create his beautiful

rock walls, flower beds,

fireplaces and ornate

features, many of which

still stand today. Then in

1994, dad helped design

and build another house

on North Hill to accom-

modate mom’s physical

limitations and give her

the house of her dreams

with an open concept and

grand kitchen. They en-

joyed one year living to-

gether in their new home

before Patricia (mom)

passed away on No-

vember 12, 1995.

We all have vivid

memories of dad at his ce-

ment mixer, or with tools

in hand! Dad also enjoyed

golfing and curling and

was a member of the

Minot Curling Club for 25

years. He liked a good

game of chess; a cold

beer; watching the Vik-

ings play football; listen-

ing to classical music; and

discussing the current

events. Dad was also a

passionate reader, finding

time daily to read one of

his countless books. Some

of his favorite subjects

were about war, history,

nature, science, astrono-

my and philosophy. He

was also fascinated by the

mysteries of the universe

and spent many hours

studying the stars, planets

and space through his

books and telescopes.

Dad worked for Bell

Telephone as a lineman

before starting his career

at Northern States Power

Company (NSP) as an

Outside Plant Supervisor.

He retired from his job

with NSP in 1989 to

spend more time with his

wife. Together in retire-

ment, dad and mom en-

joyed taking road trips to

visit children, grandchil-

dren and friends.

Gene is survived by his

sister, Janet (Bob) Pettys,

Minot; three sons: Ken-

neth Sjaastad, Montana,

Gregory Sjaastad, Utah

and Gary Sjaastad, Minot;

three daughters: Pamela

(Frank) Shipley, Minot,

Sally Sjaastad, Montana,

and Julie Renfrew, Texas;

nine grandchildren; thir-

teen great-grandchildren

and numerous nieces,

nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in

death by his wife,

parents, brother: Gerald,

two grandchildren and

two great-grandchildren.

Our family would like

to thank the caring staff at

Edgewood for keeping dad

comfortable during the

five months he lived

there. A special ack-

nowledgment to his chil-

dren, especially Julie, Ken

and Greg, who sacrificed

many long weeks at a time

to travel to Minot and take

care of dad in his home

for as long as possible.

Also, to Pam and Frank,

who frequently visited

dad and brought him his

favorite home-baked cook-

ies to let him know how

much he was loved, and

to his sister, Janet and un-

cle Bob, who regularly

visited him to let him

know he was not alone.

We love and miss you

always, Dad! We are com-

forted knowing that your

suffering is finally over

and you are forever united

with your loving wife.

Rest in Peace.

Public Visitation:

Wednesday, October 23,

2019 from 4:00 p.m. until

6:00 p.m. in Thomas Fam-

ily Funeral Home – Minot.

At Gene’s request, there

will not be a formal ser-

vice.

He will be buried next

to his wife, Patricia, at

Rosehill Memorial Park,

Minot.

In lieu of plants and

flowers, please consider

donating to the

Alzheimer’s Association

to help find a cure for this

insidious disease.

Memories and con-

dolences can be shared at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com