DUANE L. BOEHMER

Duane L. Boehmer of Devils Lake, ND passed away at his home on Monday evening, September 23, 2013 in the loving care of his family and Hospice. He was 74 years old. Funeral Services for Duane will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, Devils Lake with Rev. Lori Broschat officiating. Duane will be laid to rest in the Devils Lake Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Friday, September 27th from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. There will be an Open House time of remembrance and sharing for family and friends at Duane’s residence at 324 3rd Street SE from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Visitation on Saturday will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral service. Casket Bearers for Duane will be Chris Schmaltz, Jeremy Schmaltz, Travis Schmaltz, Chad Schmaltz, Jeff Heilman, Dustin Boehmer and Roy Wessels. Honorary Bearers will be LeRoy Axdahl, Gary Ray, Bob Gustafson, Delano Kurtz, Stan Sigette, Kevin Birkeland, Leonard Birkeland, Arlen Blumer and the Staff of Marketplace Motors. A special tribute to Duane will be given by his granddaughters. Duane, son of Thomas and Charlotte (Shaw) Boehmer was born on December 26, 1938 in Devils Lake. He was united in marriage to Inez Braaten on July 31, 1956. Inez passed away on November 19, 1963. He then married Ruby Aabrekke on April 10, 1992. They had many wonderful years together. Ruby passed away on May 9, 2007. At the time of his death, Duane was retired but worked part-time for Marketplace Motors delivering vehicles. Other jobs were with Soper’s Construction, Ray Brothers Trucking, Durbin Construction and various other trucking jobs. He loved to drive. During his retirement you could often see him driving around town, checking on his family to see what everyone was up to, having coffee at his frequent stops at the White House Cafe, with the CAVE Group, Everson’s with the “boys” (as he called them), Knutson’s Body Shop, Dan at Lake Region Grain and Kevin at LinCare and many other stops that we couldn’t track without GPS. Duane loved to watch his grandsons play hockey, never missing a game and watching his granddaughters skate and rodeo. In recent years, he also enjoyed time spent with his great grandchildren. Duane was a faithful member of United Methodist Church and enjoyed membership in the Elks Lodge. Duane is survived by his daughters, Vicki (Peter) Schmaltz, Kelli (Steve) Heilman all of Devils Lake and Lisa (Randy) Wessels of Crary, ND; his precious eleven grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren, Chris Schmaltz; Jeremy (Sheila) Schmaltz and their sons Brett and Jackson all of Devils Lake; Travis (Kinsey) Schmaltz and their daughter Jailynn of West Monroe, LA; Chad (Crystal) Schmaltz and their sons, Carter and Tayven of Bismarck, ND; Brandie (Greg) Ulland and their daughters, Mea and Harper of Jamestown, ND; Charla (Logan) Hannesson and their son Dexter of Devils Lake; Jeff Heilman also of Devils Lake; Dustin Boehmer of Bismarck, ND; Ashley Wessels (Nathan Miller) and her daughter Ella, Devils Lake; Sarah (Chad) Britton and their daughters Emily, Sophia, Lilly and Roy Wessels (Natasha Sailor) and their children Cameron, Daveigh, Maya, Jesse and Cole; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Clayton (Grace) Braaten of Bemidji, MN, Gilmore (Bonnie) Braaten of Devils Lake, Adam Freidig of Hensler, ND, Valerie (Fred) Piatz of Carrington, ND, Rosemary Braaten of Langdon, ND and Gertie Aabrekke also of Devils Lake; many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wives, Inez and Ruby; parents, Tom and Charlotte and great grandson, Jamisson Schmaltz.