JOHN WILTON LOGAN

John Wilton Logan, 95, long time Devils Lake area resident, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 19, 2012 in Round Rock, Texas. Funeral services for John will be held on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Devils Lake. Rev. Marvin Winstryg will officiate and burial will be in the Devils Lake Cemetery. Military Honors will be accorded by the Neathery-Simensen Post #756, Devils Lake Veterans of Foreign Wars and the North Dakota Military Funeral Honors Team. Visitation will be held Friday (today) at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake, from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. and a prayer service will be held there at 8:00 p.m. Viewing on Saturday will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral service. Music will be provided by Mary Oehlke, John’s youngest daughter Joy and Joyce Carter. Serving as casket bearers for John will be his grandchildren, Abdul Kamara, Aziz Kamara, Princess Kamara, Aaron Roseland, Adam Roseland and Teagan Votaw. John Wilton Logan was born on December 25, 1916 to William Henry and Zora Belle (Perry) Logan in Antler, North Dakota. He grew up there as the eldest of three children, all sons. His brothers were Chester and Kenneth. John graduated from Kuroki High School at West Hope, North Dakota in 1933. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture at NDSU (then NDAC) in 1942. John always said that the month of June in 1942 remained the most significant month of his life, for he graduated from college, married his sweetheart Isabel Voiles on June 4, and got inducted into the U.S. army on June 29, 1942. He and Isabel spent the war years together, living in California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Alabama and Kansas, before coming back home to North Dakota at the end of the war. John spent his entire career as a County Extension Agent, dually employed by the county he served and the North Dakota State University Extension Service. His first job, in 1946, was as an assistant agent in Bottineau, North Dakota, where he and Isabel lived for about eight months. Then he was assigned to be county agent for Towner County and lived in Cando, North Dakota for the next twenty years. All five of John and Isabel’s children were born in Cando. In 1966, he and his family moved to Devils Lake, North Dakota, where he became county agent until his retirement in 1979. John was a life member of Upsilon Chapter, Epsilon Sigma Phi, National Honorary Extension Fraternity. He was honored to be selected for a three year term as voting delegate representing North Dakota to the national extension conferences. This appointment afforded him and Isabel the opportunity to vacation in Miami Beach, Florida, New York City and Las Cruces, New Mexico. John was an avid gardener. After he retired from the extension service, his gardening activities expanded, when he joined forces with his brother Chester, in growing vegetables, not only for their families, but also developing a commercial-sized plot for growing cantaloupe. John and Chet provided melons to appreciative neighbors, as well as customers of the local grocery stores. John will be remembered in both the Cando and Devils Lake communities for being very involved in both United Methodist Churches, where he served in many capacities, always being willing to teach Sunday School – high school classes and adult classes. Anyone who knew John, recognized his talent for articulating ideas well. He had a sharp wit and was frequently asked to emcee banquets and programs. He loved to sing and was active in the Cando Community Chorus, the church choir in both communities and especially enjoyed providing a solid bass line for barbershop quartet harmony. He enjoyed participating in a number of community theater productions. He was a contributing member of the American Legion, the Masonic Lodge in Cando and the Crofton Lodge, I.O.O.F. in Devils Lake. In his retirement, he volunteered, delivering Meals on Wheels. John and Isabel moved to Heartland Court in April of 2006 and when Isabel moved to Heartland Care Center, John cared for her devotedly by visiting with her every day until her death in January of 2008. John moved to Round Rock, Texas in August 2011, where he could be near his daughter Carmen. His family wishes to thank the staff of Fairway Vista for providing tender, loving care to John in the last year of his life. John is survived by his five children, Jane (Abdul) Kamara of Fargo, North Dakota, Barbara (Bruce) Roseland of Seneca, South Dakota, Jack (JeriAnn) Logan of Canyon Creek, Montana, Carmen (A.G.) Votaw of Austin, Texas and Joy Logan of Columbia, South Carolina; grandchildren Abdul (Bethany) Kamara, Princess Kamara, Aziz Kamara, Latif Kamara, Aaron Roseland, Adam Roseland, Teagan Votaw, Basil Hawk and Blair Hawk. He is also survived by one brother-in-law, Howard Voiles of Lannon, Wisconsin and one sister-in-law, Iris Logan of Colton, California, and a host of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his two brothers and his beloved wife of 65 years, Isabel.