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May 16, 1939-Sept. 29, 2026
Kenmare
Twila Louise (Jensen) Essler, 87, a long time resident of Kenmare, ND passed away on September 29 in Garrison, ND with her family by her side and has been called home to live an eternal life with God.
Twila was born on May 16, 1939 in Kenmare to Oluf (Ole) and Louise (Anderson) Jensen. She was raised on a farm west of Kenmare, but her family also spent time in a house in Kenmare when she was growing up. On December 16, 1961, Twila married the love of her life Allan Essler in Kenmare where they spent the majority of their life together and raised their five children – Kim, Jerry, Lori, Paul and Sharon. Twila was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
Out of high school, Twila worked for Westlie Motors and MDU in Minot, ND and later on operated Inches Aweigh, but most of all she was a homemaker who loved cooking, tending her garden and raising her five children in Kenmare. Twila was always there to drive the truck to empty the combine and also made sure that Allan and the family who helped farm always had a hot meal for supper. Twila also enjoyed her Wednesday morning lady's coffee group and afternoon bridge clubs. Twila was active in the community serving on the Election Board and Planning Commission for the City of Kenmare and was an active volunteer at Nazareth Lutheran Church.
Twila was an avid golfer who spent many nights at the Kenmare Country Club at ladies' night, she was often in the higher flights in tournaments she competed in. As only very few do, she scored a hole-in-one at Palm Creek Resort in Casa Grande, AZ where she and Allan spent several winters. Twila was also quite the card shark and there was most always a game involved in family gatherings. Allan and Twila played better as card partners as they were both pretty competitive when they had to play against each other.
Twila is survived by: Children – Kim (Sandra) Essler and their children Ryan (Kimberly) Essler and Randy (Carrie) Essler; Jerry (Sam) Essler and their children Meghan (Trevor) Herrmann and Jonathan (Akira) Essler; Lori (Scott) Roesler, step daughter, Courtnie; Paul (Stacia) Essler and their children Sydney, Nicholas and Abby; Sharon (Greg) Schindel and their children Ashlyn and Zach, sister Erma Martinson, sisters-in-law Joyce McWilliam and Maureen Sweet, seven great grandchildren and one more on the way, and several special nieces and nephews.
Twila was preceded in death by her husband of 62+ years Allan Essler, her parents Louise and Ole Jensen, In-laws – Peter, Minnie and Bertha Essler, sisters Arlene Haaser, Ellen Lindberg, and Jeanice Shipton, grandsons Jesse Simon and Jordan Simon (Lori), granddaughter Robyn Essler (Kim) two sisters-in-law, and eight brothers-in-law.
Visitation will be held on Friday, October 2, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Thompson Larson Funeral Home in Kenmare.
Funeral services will be held at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Kenmare at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 3. Following the funeral, all are invited to lunch in the fellowship hall at the church.
Burial will be held following the luncheon in Lakeview Cemetery, Kenmare.
Published by The Minot Daily News, October 3, 2026.