Robert Tangsrud Sr.

McGregor

Robert Tangsrud, Sr., McGregor, died Tuesday, November 28th, 2023, at the Tioga Medical Center Hospital. He was 95 years old.

Robert Raymond (Ray) Tangsrud was born on December 30th, 1927, in Wildrose, North Dakota. He was the youngest child of Nicolai and Charlotte (Christoffersen) Tangsrud. Ray grew up on the farm that his father, a Norwegian immigrant, had homesteaded during the first decade of the 1900s.

Ray’s life could have taken any of several different directions. After graduating from McGregor High School in 1946, he attended what was then Minot State Teachers College. Before long, though, he heard the voice of the farm (and probably his oldest brother) calling him back home. Along with farming, Ray served several nearby rural schools as a substitute teacher.

Ray had registered for the U.S. Military’s Peacetime Draft, but during the early 1950s he decided that volunteering and choosing a branch of the Service would be preferable to being drafted and assigned where he’d rather not go. Ray’s choice was the United States Navy. Between the years 1955 and 1957 Ray sailed the western Pacific aboard the heavy cruiser USS St. Paul, where he was trained and served as an electrician.

Ray met his wife-to-be, Eunice Strom, during the fall of 1957 in Williston, shortly after completing his two years in the Navy. It just so happened that one of Eunice’s students was a son of Ray’s sister, Elsie. Elsie invited her brother the sailor to her home to present a slide show of photos he’d taken during his tour of duty…and she also invited her son’s teacher, Eunice (who loved travelling). At the end of that evening Ray drove Eunice home in his new ’57 Chevy Bel Air.

Eunice and Ray were married June 11th, 1958, in Beulah. They made their home on the Tangsrud family farm, where they raised grain, cattle, and their two children, Robert (Bob) Jr. and Gayleen.

Ray continued as an involved member of the McGregor and later, Wildrose, communities. He served many years on the Stoneview Township Board and was active in several organizations, including the Wildrose Senior Citizens and American Legion. In his later years Ray embraced a hobby that his two children wouldn’t have expected: piecing together jigsaw puzzles…hundreds and hundreds of them. Because he never wanted to take his puzzles apart, he mounted nearly all of them on poster board, then pinned them to the walls of his apartments. His walls were covered with puzzles.

Ray leaves behind his son, Robert (Bob), Jr. (Darnell), his daughter, Gayleen (Ron Olson), and their families. In Bob’s and Darnell’s family are grandchildren Matthew (Crystal), Amy (Shawn) Brown, and Aaron (Emily), and great-grandchildren Finlay, Haven, Nicolai, and Eunice. In Gayleen’s and Ron’s family are grandchildren Brandon (Danielle) Haugenoe, Karla (Victor) Omotoye, Allison (Paul Wanderaas), Jerrica (Bobby) Orr, and Jordan Olson, and great-grandchildren Ayden, Julianna, Amelia, Kylie, Kinlie, and Aftyn. Each one of these was special to Grandpa/Great-Grandpa Ray, and each one of them will miss him dearly.

Ray is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Eunice, his parents, and his siblings Astrid, Norbert, Amy, Elsie, infant brother Raymond Edgar, and Egil.

There will be a private celebration of Ray’s life on Saturday, June 22nd, 2024, at Ray’s family farm, and a private burial at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church cemetery.

Gifts in memory of Ray are not necessary, however, the family will donate any gifts received to the Ludvig Coy American Legion Unit #110 of Wildrose.

Stakston-Martin Funeral Home of Crosby has charge of arrangements. Leave condolences at: smfhcrosby.com

Published by The Minot Daily News, December 6, 2023.