Patricia Novak

Minot

Pat Novak, 89, Minot resident for more than seventy years, died Dec. 11, 2022, at her home in Minot.

She was born May 3, 1933, on the family farm near Karlsruhe, a daughter of Andrew and Walburg (Weist), Klein. She was baptized Parpatina, a name that some found challenging. She became best known as Pat. She lived on the farm until 1945 when her parents retired and the family moved to Minot.

Pat attended Model High School in Minot before switching to St. Leo’s High School and graduating in 1950. She then worked as a switchboard operator for Bell Telephone and later as a secretary at First National Bank (Wells Fargo) in Minot.

On Nov. 28, 1953, she married James Novak. They made their home was on the Klein homestead near Karlsruhe. In 1956, they established the Novak farm in Freedom Township. They remained on the farm until moving to Minot in 2016.

Having been raised on a farm, Pat quickly adjusted to her role as a farm wife. In time, it became apparent there was nothing she could not do. She served as clerk for Freedom Township, and worked as a bailiff for the North Central Judicial District. She was a substitute school bus driver. She developed skills as a seamstress. She took up upholstery work which became a major occupation. She was a wood worker. In the last year of her life, she knitted caps for young people. And she made decorative crafts for friends and others at Somerset Court where she lived.

During a stretch in the 1980s, she was a member of a singing group called the Bad Habits to raise funds for the Benedictine nuns. Pat was a singing member, and she made the “habits” for the singing nuns.

She and Jim were founding members of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church.

Her husband Jim died Aug. 3, 2021.

Pat is survived by her children and spouses: Rick (Shelle) Novak, Robin (Jeri) Novak, Randall (Kim) Novak, Roxanne (Dan) Vander Vorste, Rhonda (Joseph) Greenwood, and Ronald (Tania) Novak; 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Patricia Jean Uhlir. Several nieces, nephews, and cousins also survive.

She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, brothers, Eugene, Ray (Martha), and John (Fern) Klein, and sisters, Bertha (Tony) Feist, Eleanor Klein, Irene Mack and Alice Klein. Brother-in-laws Charlie Uhlir, Richard (Bernice) Novak.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 10:30 am at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Minot. Burial will be in Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.

Visitation: There will be no reviewal as cremation as taken place. However, friends my sign a guest register on Wednesday, January 18, from 3 to 5 pm at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot. This will be followed by a prayer service at 5 pm in the chapel of the funeral home.

Graveside Service: January 19, 2023 12:45 pm at Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot

The service will be livestreamed for the public to view and can be accessed by visiting her obituary page at www.thompsonlarson.com

Memorials may be sent to the Benedictine Sisters at Sacred Heart Monastery, 2441 – 10th Avenue W., Dickinson, ND, 58601.

Published by The Minot Daily News, January 14, 2023.