Leonard Markusen
July 18, 1934-March 22, 2020
Leonard Ohren Mar-
kusen, 85, of Moorhead,
MN, passed away on Sun-
day, March 22, 2020, at
Bethany on University,
Fargo, ND. Leonard was
born on July 18, 1934, to
Edwin and Petra (Ohren)
Markusen in Minot, ND.
Leonard grew up on the
family farm near Towner,
ND, attended country
school in the area and gra-
duated from Dakota Luth-
eran Academy in Minot,
ND. He attended the Luth-
eran Bible Institute in
Minneapolis, MN, for one
year before attending Con-
cordia College, Moorhead,
MN, for three years and fi-
nally graduating from
Minot Business College
with his Business Certifi-
cate.
After graduation, Leo-
nard became the Office
Manager at Dakota Luth-
eran Academy, where he
was also the Dean of Boys
and taught Freshmen Reli-
gion. After the school
closed, Leonard moved to
Forest City, Iowa, where
he worked at Waldorf
University as the Admis-
sions Office Manager for
35 years. Leonard was un-
ited in marriage to Mar-
jorie Lund on September
10, 1983, in Minnetonka,
MN. Their daughter, Jessi-
ca, was born in 1988.
While living in Iowa, Leo-
nard prided himself on
being the organist at Im-
manuel Lutheran Church
in Forest City. At the age
of 65, Leonard retired
from Waldorf, yet contin-
ued to play the organ for
the church. Leonard &
Marjorie moved to Moor-
head in 2011.
Leonard had a great
sense of humor and was a
proud Scandinavian. He
liked to garden, feed the
birds, read the paper and
go for walks. He loved
the liturgy and hymns of
the Lutheran Church. He
enjoyed attending con-
certs and cultural
events. Leonard overcame
many health obstacles, in-
cluding a severe form of
esophageal cancer, major
heart surgery and other
health issues later in
life. Despite his health
struggles, he made the
best of every situation and
was a very content per-
son. He enjoyed being
with family and
friends. He loved spend-
ing time at the family
farm in North Dakota or
along the North Shore of
Lake Superior.
Leonard is survived by
his loving wife, Marjorie;
daughter, Jessica Mar-
kusen; brother, Stanley
Markusen; brothers-in-
law, Richard and John
Lund; nephew, Jeremy
(Mark) Lund; and many
other loving relatives and
friends. He is preceded in
death by his parents,
Edwin and Petra; and
brother, Edwin “Sonny”
Markusen Jr. Leonard’s
brother, Erling Markusen,
passed away on July 11,
2020.
A memorial service will
be held at Trinity Luth-
eran Church, Moorhead,
MN, on Friday, September
11, 2020, at 1:00 P.M. A
live stream of the service
will be available at 1:00
P.M. on the Trinity Luth-
eran Church webpage and
Facebook page at
http://trinitymhd.org, as
well as Leonard’s webpage
at www.wrightfuneral.
com, where a guestbook
and video tribute may
also be found. Final rest-
ing place will be at Nor-
way Lutheran Church
Cemetery, Rural Towner,
ND, on Saturday, Sep-
tember 12, 2020, at 1:00
P.M. Masks and social dis-
tancing are required at the
memorial service and
graveside service.
In lieu of flowers,
memorials preferred to
Norway Lutheran Trust,
Trinity Lutheran Church
Organ Fund, Concordia
College Music Depart-
ment, or Waldorf Luth-
eran Foundation.