David Sander Ryan

David S. Ryan, 65 of Devils Lake formerly of Tolna, ND died on Sunday, December 13, 2009 at Mercy Hospital, Devils Lake. Funeral Services for David will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. Rev. Rafe Allison 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, the Lake Region Honor Guard and the North Dakota Military Funerals Honor Team. Friends may call at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake on Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and on Thursday from 9:00 a.m. until time of service. Honorary Bearers for David will be Les Nogosek, Ray Erickson, John Burckhard, Jay Klemetsrud, Stef Keller, Dave Foreng, Bob Gutting, Scott Rath, Jerry Chapman and Jerry Syverson. Music will be provided by Peter Foss and Lynne Webster, vocalists and Lynda Pearson, pianist. David Sander Ryan was born on May 25, 1944 at Great Falls, Montana, the son of Orville and Marguerite (Lepine) Ryan. At a young age he moved with his parents to the Tolna area where he attended Tolna School, graduating from Tolna High School with the class of 1962. David entered the United States Army on February 19, 1963 at Fargo, ND and served his country in Korea and Vietnam and was honorably discharged in February of 1966 with the rank of Specialist 4. David returned to the Lake Region area and attended Lake Region Junior College and then attended UND, graduating with a degree in Business Administration. David was united in marriage to Judy Peterson on February 7, 1970 at Devils Lake, ND. They established their home in Minneapolis and later in Oklahoma City, OK where David worked as a buyer for several companies. After they moved to Devils Lake, David worked at Sioux Manufacturing in Fort Totten and later at Turtle Mountain Manufacturing in Rolla, ND. In 2006, David retired from the Goodrich Corporation (formerly Lucas Aerospace Inc.) in Jamestown, ND. After retirement, he and Judy had looked forward to spending the winter months in Arizona. David was a member of the Devils Lake Elks Lodge and the VFW Club. He enjoyed traveling and traveled overseas several times, including a trip to Norway to watch the winter Olympics. He felt very at home in Norway as he not only understood the language but was able to read the Norwegian language. David was an avid reader, sports fan, enjoying watching any kind of sporting events on TV, especially the Minnesota Twins, Vikings and Sioux Hockey and never missed an opportunity to do any crossword puzzle that came before him. David’s final act was to give the gift of life through tissue donation. David is survived by his wife of 39 years, Judy; daughter, Shelly Kristen Ryan also of Devils Lake; sister, Eileen Erickson and her husband, Ray of Jamestown, ND and brother, Dennis Ryan of Minot, ND; mother-in-law, Doris Burt of Devils Lake and brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, David and Cheryl Peterson of Bismarck, Brent Peterson, Devils Lake and Sharon Peterson also of Devils Lake. Many nieces, nephews and their families also survive. David was preceded in death by his parents; father-in-law, Albert Peterson; step father-in-law, Arthur Burt and brother-in-law, Michael Peterson.