CONRAD W ADAHL

Conrad W. Adahl, a lifetime farmer and rancher in the Lake Region area, passed away on Wednesday, July 16, 2014 at Sanford Health in Fargo, ND with family and friends at his side. Funeral Services for Conrad will be held on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, Devils Lake with Rev. Jeff Nicla officiating. Conrad will be laid to rest in the Norway Lutheran Cemetery, rural Devils Lake. Visitation will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Visitation on Wednesday will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral service. Conrad Wayne, son of Willard and Helen (Loften) Adahl was born on April 26, 1949 in Devils Lake, ND. Conrad lived his entire life in Grand Harbor Township. He was a baptized member of Norway Lutheran Church and was confirmed at St. Olaf Lutheran Church. He attended elementary school at Pelican Township #2 and middle school at Pelican Township #3 and graduated from Devils Lake Central High School with the class of 1967. He always said he went on to “graduate from the Harvard School of Hard Knocks.” He was involved in farming and ranching from a very young age, farming with his parents and by the time he was a senior in high school he was truly a self employed farmer and commercial rancher. He would continue in this profession which he so loved until his death. By age 3 he was already an accomplished marksman when he shot a black bird and duck swimming in a pond with his BB gun. He was active in FFA and was the recipient of the Star Chapter Farmer Award. He was a very active member of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association and also a former member of the Sons of Norway and Eagles Lodge. His true passion was as a good steward of the land. He was a progressive farmer and always looking to the future. But he would never find anything that gave him more pleasure than a fine cattle herd. He would drive the countryside and always stop and admire cattle grazing in a pasture and knew each and every one of his own cattle and their off spring and any history of the herd you might want to know. Conrad took good care of the land and his animals, but he never was too busy to help a neighbor, a friend, a stranger. He believed in “paying forward” and knew if he was a good neighbor he would be surrounded by good neighbors and friends and he treasured them all. Conrad’s loving family include his brother Harlan Adahl of Devils Lake and sister Sybil Loften of Canby, OR; nephews Brennan Adahl and Ethan Adahl; sister-in-law Debbie Adahl, Devils Lake; aunt Joyce Benson, Moorhead, MN; many cousins and friend Myrna Heisler, Mandan, ND He was preceded in death by his parents; brother Rodney Adahl; grandparents Christian and Bertha Loften, rural Devils Lake and Joseph and Clara Adahl, rural Penn. Serving as Casket Bearers for Conrad will be Brennan Adahl, Ethan Adahl, Roger Moen, Duane Moen, Greg Hoffner and Tanner Elshaug and Casket Escort, Gary Geske. Music will be provided by Dennis Aardahl and Lynda Pearson.