Tom Widdel

Tom Widdel, 77, life-

long Minot resident,

passed away on Sunday,

August 14, 2022 in a

Minot hospital. His loving

family was at his side.

Thomas Jeffery Widdel

was born on October 29,

1944 in Minot, ND to John

“Earl” Widdel and Angela

(Gefroh) Widdel. He was

raised and educated in

Minot, attended St. Leo’s

Grade School and gra-

duated from Bishop Ryan

High School in 1962. As a

boy, you could find Tom

helping at Widdel’s Bak-

ery in Minot and Ken-

mare. In high school, he

was a standout wrestler

and football player and

managed the family pizza

business, Tony’s Pizza, lo-

cated on South Broadway

in Minot. After high

school, he joined the

Army National Guard and

did his basic training at

Fort Leonard Wood, Mis-

souri. He was honorably

discharged in 1963 as a

Sergeant and had earned

his sharpshooter designa-

tion.

Tom met Nancy

(Luedke) Collins in the

spring of 1963 and in

1964 when Nancy moved

to California he drove all

night to return her to

Minot and they married in

1970. They were the

proud parents of two

sons: Chris (1971) and Jeff

(1972). During this time,

Tom became a real estate

agent in Minot while con-

tinuing to manage Tony’s

Pizza. Tom was a man of

many talents and moved

on to become an oil field

engineer for Baroid in the

1980’s and then transi-

tioned to the construction

industry where he and his

son Jeff worked for Real

Builders. Tom earned a

Management Information

Systems Degree at Minot

State University in 1997,

graduating the day before

his son, Jeff, graduated

from the South Dakota

School of Mines. He

worked briefly in that in-

dustry before establishing,

with Dale Nesdahl,

Plumb/Square Construc-

tion in the late 1990’s.

Later, he and his nephew

Shannon Straight worked

together on various con-

struction and remodeling

projects. He retired from

the construction business

until the Minot Flood of

2011 which led to him re-

building his childhood

home that he had been

residing in since his

parents passing and help-

ing family members with

various flooded home pro-

jects. Also, starting in the

1970’s, Tom helped the

Straight Family with their

concession business. He

loved “selling hotdogs”

with family members in-

cluding his sons, nieces,

nephew, and friends.

Tom’s hobbies started

early in life with helping

at the farm and learning

to deer hunt. Later in life,

he enjoyed deer hunting

at the Widdel Farm south

of Minot with his sons,

cousin Dick Charlebois

and Dicks daughter An-

drea as well as with his

brother Jack and nieces

and nephews. Tom was a

lifetime and charter

member and organizer of

the North Dakota Interna-

tional Chili Society. Tom

loved watching his kids

participate in sports and

he was a huge supporter

of his grandchildren:

Jacob, Adisynn, Angela,

and Sophia in their sports

and activities. They could

always count on Grandpa

cheering for them from

the stands and he always

commented on how proud

he was of them. Tom en-

joyed hosting parties at

“the big house” on Bur-

dick where you could find

him making pizza, ta-

males or deer sausage. He

proudly taught anyone

who would listen how to

properly make them the

“Widdel Way.” He always

made sure no one ever left

hungry or empty handed.

Tom sang in The Minot

Chamber Chorale for over

20 years and loved the so-

cials and dressing up for

the Renaissance Feast.

During Tom’s life he en-

joyed skiing and playing

pool with his son Chris

for many years. Traveling

to Prior Lake, MN to see

his granddaughters: So-

phia and Angela, son Jeff

and daughter-in-law Desra

was something he always

looked forward to and tak-

ing the train was his

favorite way to get there.

One of the things his fam-

ily will always remember

is his love for Christmas

and spending it with his

family was very important

to him.

Tom impacted many

people throughout his

life, was very frugal but

giving as evidenced by his

interest and involvement

in the Lord’s Cupboard

Food Pantry. He will be

missed dearly. Our family

wishes to express our

deep appreciation to each

of you who have been so

kind to us. We are partic-

ularly honored by the love

and kindness you have

given to him and to us at

this time.

Tom’s loving family in-

cludes his sons: Chris

Widdel of Minot and Jeff

(Desra) Widdel of Prior

Lake, MN; grandchildren:

Jacob, Adisynn, Angela

and Sophia; siblings: Jack

(Yvonne) Widdel of Bem-

idji, MN and Judy Straight

of St. Paul, MN and

several nieces, nephews

and cousins. He was pre-

ceded in death by his

parents and brother: Tim

Widdel.

Mass of Christian Buri-

al: Friday, August 19,

2022 at 10:00 a.m. in St.

Leo’s Catholic Church –

Minot.

Vigil Prayer Service:

Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in

Thomas Family Funeral

Home – Minot.

Visitation: Thursday

from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00

p.m. in the funeral home.

Graveside Service: Fri-

day at 1:00 p.m. in

Rosehill Memorial Park –

Minot.

Memorials are preferred

to the MSU Beaver Boost-

ers, Minot Chamber

Chorale or the Lord’s Cup-

board Food Pantry.

Memories and con-

dolences may be shared at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.