Allen F. Butz

The family of Allen

Franklin Butz is sad to

share the news of Allen’s

passing on Saturday, Sep-

tember 12, 2020 under the

loving care of staff at Elim

Rehab and Care Center,

Princeton, MN.

Allen was born Sep-

tember 6, 1930 in Tiffin,

Ohio, the son of Vernon

and Agnes (Weiker) Butz.

Friends and family cele-

brated his 90th birthday

on Sunday, September 6,

2020.

Allen grew up in Ohio

on a turkey farm with his

twin brother Alton, broth-

er Bob, and sister June.

Due to poor health, their

father passed away when

Allen was 14 years of age.

In 1949, Allen graduated

from Thompson Town-

ship High School, Bel-

levue, Ohio and worked

for Bendix Steel Corpora-

tion. In 1950 he joined the

United States Air Force

and trained at Keesler

AFB, Mississippi to be a

Radar Operator, which

brought him to the Minot

Radar Base just south of

Minot. Allen married

Nada Ann Osdoba,

daughter of George and

Carrie Osdoba, in 1952.

Allen and Nada made

their home in Minot and

had five children. They

were married for 65+

years before Nada’s pass-

ing on January 6, 2018.

After receiving an honor-

able discharge from the

service in 1954 as a Staff

Sergeant, Allen accepted

an offered position in

sales and office machine

repair from his

father-in-law, George Os-

doba, owner and founder

of Minot Typewriter.

Allen quickly excelled

at his trade and was

awarded 3 trips abroad for

top sales with Olivetti. He

often told the story of re-

ceiving the contract with

Minot Air Force Base of

136 typewriters, which

were shipped individually

in wooden crates. He had

to carry each one up two

flights of stairs.

Allen developed many

special friendships and

stayed well connected in

the Minot community. He

was president of the

Minot Jaycees, Minot

Lions Club, and Zion

Lutheran Church, served

on the Minot City Council

as 4th Ward Alderman for

16 years, Chairman of the

Mayor’s Advisory Com-

mittee for the new Minot

Airport and enjoyed

membership with the

Chamber of Commerce,

Y’s Men, American Le-

gion, Order of the Moose,

and Elks Club.

In 1978 Allen Butz be-

came senior partner of

Minot Typewriter. The

business continued to

thrive through transition-

ing from the mechanical

to the electronic world

and impeccable customer

service. In the 90’s, as Al-

len approached retire-

ment, the popularity of

the PC toppled the type-

writer business. Unfor-

tunately poor health fol-

lowed him into retire-

ment, and he was faced

with many challenges

along the way.

At the age of 81 he was

victim to the 2011 Minot

flood. As many who

worked with Allen in

business, community,

medical profession or

after the 2011 flood can

attest to, these challenges

revealed Allen’s work eth-

ic, determination, com-

mitment and unyielding

demand he placed on oth-

ers. Coming from a

meager background, Allen

believed these attributes

were important in build-

ing strong willed charac-

ter.

In retirement, Allen

found employment on a

combine crew in Carpio,

rebuilding Minot’s south

Broadway with Coughlin

Construction, park

maintenance with the

Minot Park District and

courtesy clerk at Miracle

Mart. You would often

find him with a good

friend out herding cattle,

fishing out at Lake Saka-

kawea, or recruiting a

helpful neighbor for a

task. Allen spent his life

connecting people and

was gracious in letting

them know they did a

good job.

Allen is survived by:

his son David Butz (Ellen)

in Sierra Vista, AZ,

daughter Cheryl Osteroos

(Garvin) in Divide, CO,

son Thomas Butz (Julia)

in Zimmerman, MN,

daughter- in-law Heidi

Epperson, grandchildren

Zack, Joel, Elliot, Eli,

Seth, Jonathan, Whitney,

Matthew, Cassidy, Car-

son, and Dillon,

great-grandchildren Mia,

London, Ario, Thea,

James Allen, Jameson,

Jules, and Donald, and

many nieces and nephews

and grand nieces and

nephews.

Allen is predeceased

by: his wife Nada Ann

Butz, infant son Jeffrey

Butz, son Andrew J. Butz,

brother Robert Butz, sister

June Boogher, twin broth-

er Alton Butz, mother

Agnes Weiker Butz and

father Vernon Butz.

Celebrating the Life of

Allen:

Funeral will be held

Friday, September 18,

2020, 10:30 am, central at

Zion Lutheran Church in

Minot.

Due to the Coronavirus

Pandemic, please observe

social distancing. Wearing

a mask is required.

The service will be live

streamed, online for the

public to view and can be

accessed by going to Zion

Lutheran Church Face-

book page at

www.facebook.com/

zionlutheranminot/ videos

Visitation will take

place at

Thompson-Larson Fun-

eral Home, Minot, Thurs-

day, September 17, 2020

from 4-6 p.m.

Memorials: In lieu of

flowers, memorials are

preferred to Elim Rehab

and Care Center. Please

mail all memorials and

acknowledgements to

Allen’s daughter, Cheryl

Osteroos, 48 Knighthood

Lane, Divide, CO 80814.

Those wishing to sign

the online register and

share memories may ac-

cess the online obituaries

section at www.thompson

larson.com.