Rev. Albert Ordene Tastad

Rev. Albert O. Tastad, 89 of Rolette, ND formerly of Pekin, ND died on Monday evening, June 13, 2005 at the Heart of America Care Center, Rugby, ND. Funeral Services for Albert will be held on Saturday, June 18, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. at Valle Lutheran Church, Rolette, ND. Rev. Arlyn Anfinrud will officiate and burial will be in the Rolette Cemetery. Military Honors will be accorded by the Dethman-Armstrong American Legion Post #194, Rolette, ND Friends may call at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. Visitation will be at Valle Lutheran Church, Rolette on Friday from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. with a Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday one hour prior to the funeral service. Serving as Casket Bearers will be: Eldore Gilje, Robert Gilje, Kermit Knudson, Gary Linson, Kent Ensrud, Raymond Ostreim, Paul Tastad and David Armstrong. Music will be provided by Laurel Toyne, Sonja Myhre and Gail Tastad, Vocalists, Robert Gilje, Soloist and LaVonne Ivey and Dianne Montonye, Instrumentalists Albert Ordene Tastad was born on August 30, 1915 on the family farm at Rolette, ND the son of Andrew and Anna (Haugstad) Tastad. He was a baptized and confirmed member of Valle Lutheran Church. He attended Rolette Public School, graduating from Rolette High School in the class of 1934. He then worked on the family farm and for several neighbors and was also a teller at the Rolette State Bank. He was attending Luther College in Decorah, Iowa when he was drafted into the United States Army on July 8, 1941, serving his country during World War II in the Tunisian Campaign, the Naples-Foggia Campaign and the Rome-Arno Campaign. He served as a Chaplain’s Assistant with the 178th Field Artillery Group which received a medal for “Distinguished Service in breaching the Gustave Line north of Cassino, Italy after May 11, 1944.” He was honorably discharged on June 2, 1945. Albert returned to Luther College graduating in 1946. He entered the Luther Theological Seminary at St. Paul, Minnesota and was ordained at Valle Lutheran Church in 1949. His first call was to Lynnwood, Washington where he served as Pastor for 4 years. He then served the Tellar Mission Congregation at Lost River, Alaska for 3 years. He then accepted the call to serve the Pekin Lutheran Church, Sheyenne Lutheran Church, rural Pekin and the Sigdal Lutheran Church, rural Tolna. He served these congregations for 27 years, retiring in 1983. Albert returned to Rolette where he lived for a number of years. In 1996 he moved to the Haaland Home at Rugby and later became a resident of the Presentation Care Center at Rolette and most recently lived at the Heart of America Care Center in Rugby. Albert was a member of the Valle Lutheran Church and the Morken-Christianson American Legion Post #182 of Pekin. While serving as Pastor in the Pekin area, Albert would take time every August to return to the farm in Rolette and help with the haying and the harvest. He was an avid gardener and grew both vegetables and flowers. Three of the most memorable trips taken by Albert were two trips to Norway and a trip to the Holy Land. Albert is survived by his Brothers: A. Irvin Tastad and his wife, Margaret of Fertile, MN Kenneth Tastad, Rolette Sister: Esther Smith and her husband, Loren of Rugby Sisters-In-Law: Iola Tastad, Rugby, ND Olive Tastad Seehafer, Rolette Edith Tastad also of Rolette Many Nieces, Nephews, Grand Nieces and Grand Nephews also survive Preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Selmer, Tilford and Harold Tastad; sisters, Myrtle Tastad, Bernice Tastad and Gladys Sorensen. Friends may sign the on-line register book at www.gilbertsonfuneralhome.com