Donald Bosworth

Donald Joseph Bosworth, 83, died May 13, 2008, at his home in Bismarck. Services will be held at 12:00 Noon Monday, May 19, 2008 at Church of St. Mary, Bismarck with Fr. Gene Lindemann officiating and Fr. Charlie Heidt as concelebrant. Burial will be in the North Dakota Veteran's Cemetery, Mandan. Visitation will be held from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm Sunday at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck where a vigil will be held at 7:00 pm. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church. Don was born in Flasher, North Dakota on April 18, 1925, the son of Frank and Verna Bosworth. He was raised in Raleigh where he graduated salutatorian in his class of two, the last graduates of Raleigh High School. In 1945 he was drafted into the Army and was shot in the leg in Germany in March of that year. He received the Purple Heart and several Marksmanship Medals. He received medical treatment and rehabilitation in Paris, France, and in Memphis, Tennessee, where he became a proficient pool player. Don passed away peacefully in his new apartment at Valley View Heights. After the war Don moved to Bismarck where he met Tillie Ternes Silbernagel and her young son, Ernie. They were married in February 1949 and lived with her parents while he attended Business College. Following graduation he worked as an accountant for Davis Chevrolet, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, and the North Dakota State Highway Department. He retired from the Highway Department in 1982. Following his retirement he spent winters with Tillie in Phoenix, Arizona, until her death in 1990. In 1990, major heart surgery extended his life 18 more years. Together Don and Tillie raised 10 children on North 16th and 17th Street in Bismarck. All of the children attended 12 years of Catholic schools in Bismarck. Don was an avid stamp and coin collector, specializing for years in Vatican City stamps. He loved to tinker around the house and garage and remodeled every home he lived in. He was very active in St. Mary's and St. Anne's churches. He served as a lector and on the parish council, and as a financial officer on committees to raise money for new churches and schools. He took his children on many long and enjoyable camping trips throughout North Dakota, Minnesota, and the Black Hills. In his later years Don loved to go to the Senior Center to play pool with his friends. To the end, he was a master Scrabble player, spent hours working crossword puzzles and putting together jigsaw puzzles, and he enjoyed following his favorite Minnesota Twins. Don is survived by 10 children, Ernie Diane Silbernagel of Carlos MN, Ramon Sharon Bosworth of Shreveport, LA, Myron Linda Bosworth of Mankato, MN, Joe Diane Bosworth of Sweet Briar, ND, Carla John Bergmeier of Pontiac, MI, Pat Alan Libra of Minneapolis, MN, Brenda Michael Hove of Bismarck, ND, John Connie Bosworth of Tehachapi, CA, Tim Brenda Bosworth of Fergus Falls, MN, Marc Sarah Bosworth of Wichita, KS; twenty-one grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; one brother, Frank Rita of Belle Fourche, SD and many nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Tillie in 1990; his parents; his brother, Roger in 1979 and one grandchild. Don lived with the memory of the difficulties of war, and raised a peace-loving family. The family requests that gifts and memorials be given to St. Mary's Church.

Donald Bosworth

April 18, 1925 - May 13, 2008