Neil G. Zimmerman

Neil G. Zimmerman, 83,

died Sunday, September

6, 2020, at his residence

in Minot. He had lived in

Minot for almost forty

years.

He was born October

18, 1936, in Rugby, a son

of Francis and Mildred

(Larsen) Zimmerman. He

was raised and educated

in Anamoose, graduating

from Anamoose High

School. As a young man,

he went to work for the

North Dakota Highway

Department. While with

the highway department,

he lived in Fargo, Grand

Forks, and Devils Lake.

He later went to work for

Collins Construction

Company in Fargo and be-

came company vice

president. He left Collins

Construction and started

his own business, Zim-

merman Contracting,

focusing on paving pro-

jects. Eventually he sold

the company, but the

business continues as

Zimmerman Contracting.

At age forty, he started

a cattle ranch and main-

tained the ranch in

southeast Minot, raising

Tarentaise Cattle, and

traveling throughout the

United States showing

and selling his breed. Neil

loved his cows and called

them “his girls.” He re-

tired at age seventy.

He was first married to

Carol Myers. They were

married for 25 years and

were the parents of three

daughters.

He married Arvadell

Lang Davidson Nov. 20,

1982, in Forest Lake, Min-

nesota. She died in 1994.

On June 16, 2000, he

married Verla Oothoudt

in Minot where they con-

tinued to make their

home.

His wife Verla said his

faith always led him.

From the time he moved

to Minot, he was a

member of St. Leo the

Great Catholic Church. He

joined the Knights of

Columbus in 1962 while

living in Devils Lake,

drawn to it, he said, be-

cause he liked its in-

surance program. He was

a Fourth Degree member

of the Knights and was a

former grand knight. In

1996, he was named

Knight of the Year for St.

Leo’s Council 9906. He in-

itiated the Knights’ annual

blood drive.

His other volunteer

work included his in-

volvement in the

Adopt-A-Highway clean-

up program. He and Verla

worked on behalf of Na-

tive Americans, collecting

items during the year and

transporting them to area

reservations-a project ini-

tiated by the Catholic

Daughters of the Ameri-

cas. At St. Leo’s, he was a

Eucharistic minister. He

also was a member of the

Holy Name Society.

Neil and Verla were in-

vited to join the Knights

of the Holy Sepulchre, a

Catholic order of knight-

hood under the protection

of the Holy See. Formed

in 1099, its primary func-

tion is to support the

Christian presence in the

Holy Land. He and Verla

traveled in the interests of

the order, and took other

trips as well. Their favor-

ite, she said, was a pil-

grimage to Medjugorje.

When Neil was not trav-

eling, he liked to cook and

to can the produce from

his garden.

Surviving are: his wife,

Verla; her children, Von-

da (Curt Clark), Kari (Ar-

den Glick), and Noni

(Tony Geer), all of Minot,

nine grandchildren, and

eight great-grandchildren;

children from his first

marriage to Carol Myers:

Cheri Bladholm, Saint

Louis Park, Mn, Dawn

(Ed) Hoy, Post Falls,

Idaho, Stephanie

Zimmerman-Childress,

Minneapolis, Minn., five

grandchildren and seven

great-grandchildren;

Arvadell’s children, Tony

Davidson, Beverly (Joe)

Savarese, Kathleen (Ran-

dy) Nogosek, Karen (Keith

Glass) Tolley, Tim David-

son, and Paul Davidson;

twelve grandchildren and

eight great-grandchildren.

Also surviving is a sis-

ter, Sharon Bossert of

Minot.

He was preceded in

death by: wives Carol and

Arvadell, his parents, a

brother Dennis, and one

stepgrandchild, Adam

Juhl.

Funeral: Monday, Sep-

tember 14, 2020, at 10:30

a.m. at St. Leo the Great

Catholic Church, Minot.

Visitation: Sunday,

September 13, 2020, visi-

tation from noon to 3 pm,

with a private family vigil

service to follow at 3 pm,

all at Thompson-Larson

Funeral Home, Minot.

Burial: Rosehill

Memorial Park, Minot

Memorials are preferred

to Bishop Ryan Catholic

School, Minot, or the

Knights of Columbus,

Council 9906.

Those wishing to sign

the online register and

share memories may ac-

cess the online obituaries

section at

(www.thompson

larson.com).