Harold “Bud” Gessner

Harold “Bud” Gessner,

age 87 of Bottineau,

passed away on Wednes-

day, December 30, 2020 at

a Bottineau hospital. A

private service will be

held (masks are required).

Visitation will be Sunday,

January 3, 2021 from 1:00

pm until 7:00 pm at the

Nero Funeral Home in

Bottineau.

Harold Edward Gessner,

a son of Gerhard and Olga

(Trebas) Gessner, was

born on April 8, 1933 on

the family farm near

Russell, ND. He was

raised there and graduat-

ed from Russell High

School in 1951. Bud

worked on the family

farm near Russell. In the

early 1960’s, he would

travel to Los Angeles dur-

ing the winter months and

worked at General Motors

to supplement his farming

due to the drought in

North Dakota. In 1959, he

started farming in Canada.

On June 1, 1968, he mar-

ried Avonne (Vellema)

Gorder at the St. John’s

Lutheran Church rural

Upham. Through this

marriage, Bud became a

father of three daughters.

They made their home on

the family farm. Bud re-

tired from farming in 1990

but continued to help out

on family farm. In 1996,

they moved into a beauti-

ful log home north of Bot-

tineau that Bud helped

build. In 2006 they moved

into Bottineau. Bud

moved into the St. An-

drew’s Health Center on

September 11, 2020.

Bud was baptized and

confirmed at the St. John’s

Lutheran Church rural

Upham where he was ac-

tive in the Walther

League. In 1996, he be-

came a member of the

Our Savior’s Lutheran

Church in Bottineau. He

held several church of-

fices in the ND District

Lutheran Laymen’s

League, ND District Luth-

eran Church Missouri

Synod and volunteered at

the Bottineau Braille

Center. He served on the

Newburg School Board,

the All Season’s Water

Board, Farm Credit Ser-

vices of North Dakota and

was president of the Or-

phan Grain Train North

Dakota Branch.

He is survived by his

loving wife Avonne of 52

years; 3 daughters, Shel-

ley Klein of Minot, Tam-

my (Mike) Hall of

Newburg and Debbie Nel-

son of Minot; grandchil-

dren, Bethany (Justin)

Hughes, Jameson (Libby)

Hall, Jasmine (Jake)

Tengesdal, Elizabeth (Zac)

Elgie, Jordan (Kayley) Nel-

son and Alex (Shaylyn)

Nelson; great grandchil-

dren, Dennis and Harris-

on Hughes, Piper Tenges-

dal, Avery Jordan Nelson

and baby Elgie due April

of 2021; sister, Lorraine

Green; in-laws, Elaine

Fiskum, Vonda Olson,

Steve and Randy Gorder,

and Joyce Gorder and

numerous nieces,

nephews and cousins.

In addition to his

parents, he was preceded

in death by his brothers,

Egon Gessner, Martin

Gessner, Ewalt Gessner,

Ben Gessner, Maurice

Gessner and Earl Gessner.

In lieu of flowers, the

family requests that

memorials be given to the

Our Savior’s Lutheran

Church Paving Fund (709

East 11th St, Bottineau,

ND 58318), ND Orphan

Grain Train (PO Box 1546

Jamestown, ND 58402)

and St. Andrew’s Health

Center (316 Ohmer St Bot-

tineau, ND 58318).

Arrangements were

with Nero Funeral Home

in Bottineau. Friends may

sign the online register

book at www.nero

funeralhome.net. Bud’s

service will be live

streamed on Monday,

January 4, 2021 at 2:00

pm on the Our Savior’s

Lutheran Church’s Face-

book page.

The family wishes to

thank the wonderful staff

at St. Andrew’s Health

Center for the exceptional

love and care they provid-

ed Bud for the past 5

months.