Gary Lee Halle

Gary L. Halle, 62 a lifelong resident of Devils Lake, ND passed away at his home on Friday, March 4, 2011 in the loving care of family and friends. Funeral Services for Gary will be held on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, Devils Lake with Rev. David Birkeland officiating. Burial will be in the Devils Lake Cemetery with Military Honors accorded by the Neathery-Simensen Post #756, Devils Lake Veterans of Foreign Wars and the North Dakota Military Funeral Honors Team. Friends may call at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a Prayer Service and Time of Remembrance at 7:00 p.m. Honorary Bearers for Gary will be Larry Anderson, David Hoffart, John Strong and Richard Mahoney and all the Staff and Faculty at Lake Region State College. Gary Lee Halle, the son of Willard and Opal (Peterson) Halle was born on June 6, 1948 in Devils Lake, ND. Gary was reared and educated in the Devils Lake area and would make Devils Lake his home his entire life. He graduated from Devils Lake Central High School with the class of 1967. He attended Lake Region Junior College for 2 years. His first job was at Keating’s working for Bob Borho. He also ran the projectors at Lake Theatre for several years. Gary entered the United States Army in May of 1970 serving his country during the Vietnam War in Vietnam. He was honorably discharged in November of 1971. Gary was united in marriage to Laura Swenson on July 1, 1972 at the United Methodist Church in Devils Lake. They established their home on the Halle family farm. At the time, Gary was working at Lake Motor Service which became Harrington-Kenner Inc. and eventually was known as Harrington Inc. He also worked for Riggin Motors, United Auto and McDougall’s Engine Repair. He also did custodial cleaning for Ramsey Bank, the Eagles Club and Gate City Bank. Gary and Laura moved into Devils Lake for 2 years, but truly missed the country life, so they built a home on the farm and moved there in December of 1977 where they made their home and raised their family through the years. For the past nineteen years, Gary has worked as a custodian at Lake Region State College. Gary was a caring, compassionate, hardworking person who would drop what he was doing to help others. His work often went undone or put off while he fixed and did things for others. He also was a collector of all kinds of things. Someone’s junk was his treasures, which he recycled or salvaged to use later. He could fix almost anything and utilized many of his collected treasures to do so. He took his vacations a day or two at a time so he could recycle his treasures or help someone in need. He truly will be missed. Gary is survived by his wife, Laura; daughter, Kathleen April Halle of Devils Lake and son, Chad W. Halle of Sykeston, ND; two grandchildren, Taylor Jo Opal Halle and Parker Brady Halle; brothers, Wayne (Karen) Halle, Donald Halle and Dale (Faye) Halle all of Devils Lake; mother-in-law, Lois Swenson also of Devils Lake; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins also survive. Gary was preceded in death by his parents and father-in-law, Ingvold Swenson.