Wallace D. Berning

Wallace ‘Wally’ D. Bern-

ing, 86, Minot and Lake

Metigoshe, died Sunday,

June 26, 2022, in a Minot

care facility.

Wallace Dale (“Wally”)

Berning was born on July

13, 1935, in Norborne,

Missouri to Martin and El-

sie (Schutz) Berning. He

was raised and educated

in Carrolton, Missouri,

where he graduated from

Carrolton High School in

1953. He attended West-

minster College in Fulton,

Missouri, for two years,

completed his Bachelor of

Arts Degree in Economics

at the University of Mis-

souri, and earned his Juris

Doctorate from the

University of Missouri

Law School- Kansas City

in 1960. He was admitted

to the Kansas (1960) and

North Dakota (1964) Bars.

Wally enlisted in the Un-

ited States Air Force in

1960 and served in the

Judge Advocate General

(JAG) corps at Fairchild

Air Force Base in

Spokane, Washington and

at Minot Air Force Base

until his honorable

discharge as a Captain in

1964. He later served as

the commander of Section

1 of the 311th General

Hospital of the US Army

Reserves in Minot

(1968-1975).

Wally married Mary El-

len “Cookie” Okerstrom

on August 5, 1961, at Elim

Lutheran Church in Far-

go, ND. They made their

home in Minot where he

was the Assistant State’s

Attorney of Ward County

(1964-73), and was in

private practice with the

Palda, Anderson and Tos-

sett Law Firm (later

Anderson, Tossett and

Berning Law Firm) from

1964 to 1979. He was ap-

pointed Northwest Judi-

cial District Judge in Sep-

tember of 1979 by Gover-

nor Arthur Link. Judge

Berning was elected to an

additional three terms on

the Bench in 1980, 1986

and 1992 and was Presid-

ing Judge (1981-1992),

prior to his retirement in

1998. Judge Berning was

also an Adjunct Professor

at Minot State University,

where he taught Business

Law (1970-79). Following

his retirement, Wally and

Cookie continued to re-

side in Minot and spent

the summer months for

many years at Lake Meti-

goshe.

Judge Berning loved his

community and believed

deeply in serving it. He

was elected to the Minot

School Board (1975-79),

serving as President of the

Board for two of those

years. He served on the

Minot Planning Commis-

sion (2005-11), and was a

member, President

(1986-87) and a Paul

Harris Fellow of the Minot

Rotary Club. He was a

board member for the

Minot Area Chamber of

Commerce and the All

Seasons Arena. Prior to

his judicial appointment,

he was active in the ND

Republican Party, having

served as Chair for the

41st District. With that, he

was always especially

honored to have been ap-

pointed to his judgeship

by Gov. Link, a Democrat.

He was a member of the

Ward County Bar Associa-

tion, Elks Lodge, and the

Masons, serving as Wor-

shipful Master of the Star

in the West Masonic

Lodge, and a member of

The Inquisitors, all in

Minot.

When Wally believed in

a cause, he served whole-

heartedly. In his very

young years, he was an

active supporter of

Planned Parenthood in

Kansas City. This contin-

ued to his early days in

Minot, where he was ac-

tively involved with Ward

County Social Services,

serving on the Oppen

Foundation’s Board of

Directors, and opening the

Berning home to several

young women seeking as-

sistance through the

Unwed Mothers Program.

His support for some of

these women went years

beyond the program.

He was an avid support-

er of the Rotary Youth Ex-

change Program, and

especially enjoyed serving

as a host family for two

students. He loved prac-

ticing his very poor

French language skills

with one and cherished

many fun times with his

favorite, Gunilla Richard-

son, from Sweden, with

whom he kept in contact

throughout his life.

He served as a

volunteer “squirts” hock-

ey coach with his good

friend, Dr. Vernon Rear-

don, although he knew

nothing about hockey! He

later continued his sup-

port of the hockey com-

munity by serving as a

billet/host family, along

with Cookie, for players of

the Saskatchewan Junior

Hockey League. His love

for many of these players

was lifelong.

He appreciated the fine

arts. He was an active

supporter of the Minot

Opera and Symphony As-

sociations and Minot

theater programs. With

Cookie’s help, his support

often came as hosting

rousing post-event parties

at the Berning home. He

served on the Board of

Directors of the Minot

Public Library, which he

frequented often.

Wally loved helping

others. He served as a Big

Brother in the YMCA Big

Brother/Big Sister Pro-

gram and serviced as a

hospice volunteer. In his

later years, he served as a

Volunteer Transporter at

Minot’s Trinity Hospital,

where he enjoyed seeing

so many community

members. He was a

member of Bethany Luth-

eran Church, and former

member of Augustana

Lutheran Church, where

he served as President of

the Congregation and on

the Church Council for

several years.

Wally’s interests were

varied, and at times,

unexpected. He not only

enjoyed playing the violin

and banjo, but he espe-

cially loved sharing his

musical skills(?) with the

community. With his dear

friend, Nita Kontos

Roberts, his performances

of hits such as, “I’m a Lit-

tle Teapot” were the

highlights of many Minot

area social events and

fundraisers. He greatly en-

joyed discussions of poli-

tics and world events, op-

posing views or not. He

greatly preferred Tab over

Diet Coke, even better

when served with rum.

He enjoyed playing

tennis. He loved to cook

and bake, often adding

pepper or curry, regard-

less of the recipe. He en-

joyed sharing witty retorts

and quips of wisdom with

others, solicited or not.

Most of all, Wally had an

interest in people. This

came through in his many

deep friendships, his as-

sistance to many and his

gift for speaking to and

befriending anyone, any-

time, anywhere.

Wally’s loving family

includes: his wife of sixty

years: Mary Ellen

“Cookie” Berning; chil-

dren: Todd (Carolyn)

Berning of West Fargo and

Shaun Ellen (Richard)

Gleason of Denver;

grandchildren: Landen

Berning of Minneapolis,

Keenen Berning of Fargo;

Trayton Molland of Fargo

and Brandon (Michelle)

Molland of Phoenix, AZ;

nieces: Michele Hudson

Rothe of Steamboat

Springs, Colorado, Melin-

da Shepard Wamsher and

Allison Butts of Kansas

City, nephew: John Hud-

son of Kansas City, and

several great nieces and

nephews.

Wally was preceded in

death by his parents, his

sister, Phoebe Ann

Shepard, and half-brother,

Glenn Berning.

Visitation: Thursday,

June 30, 2022, from 3 to 6

pm at Thomas Family

Funeral Home.

Funeral service: Friday,

July 1, 2022, at 11:00 AM

at Bethany Lutheran

Church, Minot. To view a

livestream of the service

or share memories

please go to Wally’s

obituary page at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.

Interment: A graveside

service will be held at

Rosehill Memorial Park,

Minot, immediately fol-

lowing the funeral.

Sharing of Memories

Reception: Immediately

following the funeral ser-

vice on Friday, July 1 at

The Grand Hotel Minot.

Memorials are preferred

to the Wallace D. Berning

Scholarship Endowment

at Minot State University

(MSU Development Foun-

dation, 500 University

Ave. West, Minot, ND

58707).