Denzil William Besse

Denzil W. “DW” Besse, 74, of Mesa, AZ formerly of Starkweather, ND, passed surrounded by his loved ones peacefully at his home on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 in Mesa, AZ. Mass of Christian Burial will be 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 in St. Joseph Catholic Church, Devils Lake, ND. Father Robert Pecotte will celebrate the Mass and burial will be in the Assumption of Mary Catholic Cemetery, Starkweather, ND in the spring. Military Honors will be accorded by the Neathery-Simensen Post #756, Devils Lake Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Lake Region Honor Guard, Camp Grafton. Visitation for Denny will be on Monday, March 9, 2009 from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake with a Rosary & Scripture service at 7:30 p.m. Visitation on Tuesday will be at the church one hour prior to the funeral Mass. Serving as Casket Bearers for DW will be his grandsons, Earl Seelye, Wade Seelye, Tony Besse, Derrick Besse, Tim Christopher, Justin Laturnus, Matthew Laturnus and Matthew Besse. Honorary Bearers will be all of the grandkids. Music will be provided by Rick Hendrickson, soloist and Audrey Myklebust, organist. Reading the Scriptures will be Kayla Christopher Denzil William was born on May 6, 1934 in the small town of Starkweather, ND to the proud parents, Alfred and Kathleen “K-B” (Branchflower) Besse. He was reared and educated in the Starkweather area, graduating from Starkweather High School in the class of 1953. Denzil entered the United States Army on September 16, 1954 at Fargo, ND. He served his country during the Korean War at Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks, Alaska. He was honorably discharged on July 30, 1956 with the rank of Specialist 3. DW was united in marriage to Betty Jean Olson on November 5, 1956 in Cando, ND. They established their home in the Starkweather area where he farmed, worked as a carpenter, owned and operated a gas/service station and construction company. In 1964 he attended Riesch Auctioneering School and worked as an auctioneer for 20 years. He also taught for a time at Lake Region Junior College. DW and Betty lived for a time in Devils Lake and Grand Forks and since 1996 have spent the winter months in Mesa, Arizona. DW was a member of Assumption of Mary Catholic Church, Starkweather and after moving to Devils Lake was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. He was a life member of the Elks Lodge and also a member of the Knights of Columbus. DW loved spending time with family and friends visiting and sharing stories of days past. He especially enjoyed watching his grandchildren participate in all of their activities. He was thankful for the blessings of a loving and caring wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He was greatly treasured and will be sadly missed. DW is survived by his wife of 52 years, Betty of Mesa, Arizona Children: Kathy Seelye and her husband, Irv of Deer River, MN; Bruce Besse and his wife, Patty of Soldotna, Alaska; Alfred “Fred” Besse and his wife, Ardie of Holyoke, Colorado; Bev Christopher and her husband, Tim of Breckenridge, MN; Donna Laturnus and her husband, Steven of Grand Forks; Pam Hendrickson and her husband, Rick of Rothsay, MN; Jon Besse and his wife, Rachel of Devils Lake. Grandkids: Angela (Dale) Gunderson, Earl Seelye, Wade Seelye, Naomi Seelye, Kathy Seelye, Lulu Seelye and Jodie Seelye; Heidi (Dennis) Jackson, Gretta (Cory) Besse, Rachel Besse and Tony Besse; Derrick (Stacey) Besse and Bridgett (Mike) Kalson; Kayla (David)Christopher, Kim (Shane) Christopher, Karen (Aaron) Christopher and Tim Christopher; Justin Laturnus, Rebecca Laturnus and Matthew Laturnus; Emily Hendrickson and Alex Hendrickson; Ashley Besse and Matthew Besse; Eleven Great Grandchildren: Paige, Myles, Caleb, Kendall, Oakley, Deni, Andi, Codi, Kaleb, Garrett and Alexa. DW was preceded in death by his parents;