Gail Bertsch

Gail A. Bertsch, 74,

Minot, died Thursday,

April 28, 2022, in her

home with her husband

and daughters by her side

after a long battle with

Alzheimer’s.

Gail was born June 14,

1947, in Des Lacs, ND to

Thorvald ‘Thor’ and Tilda

‘Tillie’ (Hoiland) Torgrim-

son. She was educated in

Des Lacs, graduating from

Des Lacs Burlington High

School in 1965. She went

on to work for Bell Tele-

phone, Kmart, Miracle

Mart, and Choice Hotels.

Gail was united in mar-

riage to David Bertsch on

September 12, 1969, at

Our Lady of Grace Cathol-

ic Church in Minot. They

settled in rural Minot for

many years where they

raised their daughters.

She looked forward to

becoming a grandmother

and her face would light

up seeing her grandkids.

Gail loved to play

BINGO and spent many

afternoons playing with

her husband or mother-

in-law, Lena, before

Lena’s passing. David and

Gail enjoyed trips to

Laughlin, NV after they

retired. When her kids

were young, they took

trips to Medora, Fargo,

and Yellowstone as a fam-

ily. Gail was a very good

cook and made several

memorable birthday cakes

for her girls as kids.

Gail was lovingly and

selflessly cared for by her

husband David. He pro-

vided primary daily care

for many years while, to-

gether, they battled with

the loss of her memory.

He was her advocate,

caretaker and devoted

companion, who loved

her without condition.

Thank you to Caring Edge,

First Light, and Lutheran

Social Services for their

assistance in providing

respite care for Gail.

Gail is survived by her

loving husband of 52

years, David, Minot;

daughters Kristen (Ernest)

Hicks, Aurora, CO and

Erin (Kyle) Byre, Minot;

grandchildren Ayla and

Nolan Byre; sisters Orla

Lindell, Minot and Adele

(Dennis) Armstrong,

Fairhope, AL; brother-

in-law Jerry Schaefer

along with numerous

nieces, nephews and

cousins.

Gail was preceded in

death by her parents,

granddaughter Evie Grace

Hicks; niece Rebecca

Schaefer, sister Jean

Schaefer; brother-in-law

Allan Lindell and brother

and sister-in-law Donald

and Cindy Torgrimson.

Celebration of Life Ser-

vice: 1:00 p.m. Wednes-

day, May 4, 2022, at Our

Redeemer’s Lutheran

Church, Minot with fel-

lowship lunch to follow.

Interment: Rosehill

Memorial Park, Minot.

Visitation: Tuesday,

May 3, 2022, from 4:00

p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at the

Thomas Family Funeral

Home, Minot.

Memorials are preferred

to Alzheimer’s Associa-

tion (www.alz.org).

Memories and con-

dolences can be shared at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.