Leonard Markusen

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.