Vern Erck

Vern M. Erck, 68,

Minot, former longtime

resident of Burlington and

retired Ward County

Sheriff, died Monday, July

25, 2022, in a Minot hos-

pital.

Vern was born July 6,

1954, in Garrison, North

Dakota, the youngest of

six children to George and

Vivian (Brown) Erck.

Raised in Esmond, he gra-

duated from Esmond High

School in 1972 and then

continued his education

at the Bismarck Academy

of Law Enforcement.

Vern’s distinguished

career in law enforcement

began in Bowbells where

he served as Chief of Pol-

ice until moving to Bur-

lington in 1977. He served

the Burlington communi-

ty as Chief of Police until

joining the Ward County

Sheriff’s Office in 1980 as

Deputy. In 1983, Vern

was promoted to Second

Investigator, and eight

months later, to the head

of the department as Lead

Investigator. After attend-

ing the National FBI

Academy in 1989, Vern

was elected to the office

of Ward County Sheriff in

1990, serving five con-

secutive terms until retir-

ing in 2010. Over the

course of his career, he re-

ceived numerous awards

and recognitions includ-

ing the North Dakota

Peace Officer’s Dis-

tinguished Service Award

and recognition as Deputy

Sheriff of the Year in

1986.

On August 23, 1980, at

St. Mark’s Lutheran

Church in Minot, Vern

vowed his heart to the

love of his life, Julie

Clark. Even though Ward

County was his office,

Burlington was their

home and it was there

they raised their two sons,

Kyle and Aaron. With

them, Vern shared his

love of fishing and golf-

ing, claiming the Garrison

Country Club and Wild-

wood Golf Course as his

home greens over the

years. He was an avid

Green Bay Packers fan,

and his favorite highway

ride was his metallic blue

1968 Pontiac Firebird. He

spent many friend-filled

hours volunteering at the

Ward County Historical

Society’s Pioneer Village,

and his envied green

thumb was proudly on

display in the grass at the

Burlington Sports Com-

plex.

Above everything,

Vern’s heart was dedicat-

ed to his family. More re-

cently, his roles as hus-

band and father had taken

a backseat to his new

favorite job as proud

grandpa, showing up as

the #1 Fan for the many

events that his grandchil-

dren took part in and lov-

ing the hours he got to

spend in their smiles.

His loving family in-

cludes: his wife of 41

years, Julie; his sons, Kyle

(Erica) Erck, and Aaron

(Brandi) Erck, both of

Minot; his grandchildren

Hailee (Mac Fletcher),

Boden, Averi, Harlow and

Krew; his one

great-grandson, Jacobi; his

siblings, Frank (Viktoria)

Erck of New Port Richie,

Florida, Les Erck of Irving,

Texas, and Pam (Mike)

Humphreys of Kingston,

Tennessee; his in-laws,

Cindy (Keith Marshall)

Strandberg, Burlington,

Brenda (Al) Kunka, Gold

Canyon, AZ, Randy (Jack-

ie) Clark, Maxbass, ND,

Troy (Lynn) Clark, Minot,

Rhonda Clark, Colorado

Springs, CO and Vicki

(Bill) Finke, Wasilla, AK;

as well as several aunts,

uncles, nieces, nephews

and cousins.

Vern was preceded in

death by: his parents, his

brother, Gary, his sister,

Geraldine McClean, his

nephew, Fran, his

mother-in-law, LaVonne

Clark, his father-in-law,

Herb Clark and his

brother-in-law, Brent

Clark.

Celebration of Life ser-

vice: Monday, August 1,

2022, at 10:30am at

Bethany Lutheran

Church, Minot. To watch

the livestream or send

messages of sympathy or

a fond memory, please ac-

cess Vern’s obituary on

the funeral website at

thomasfamilyfuneral

home.com

Visitation: Sunday, July

31, 2022, from

4:00pm-6:00pm at Tho-

mas Family Funeral

Home, Minot.

Memorials are preferred

to Peace Lutheran Church

of Burlington or the Ward

County Historical Society

in Burlington.