Eugene Pfennig

Eugene R. Pfennig, 74, Driscoll, ND, died Monday, July 28, 2008, while working his farm. Services will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, at Grace Lutheran Church, Driscoll, with Rev. Paul Schauer officiating. Burial will be in Grace Lutheran Cemetery, Driscoll. Visitation will be held from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm Friday at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church. Eugene, “Butch,” was born February 2, 1934, the eleventh of fifteen children, at his family’s farm on the Knife River near Beulah, ND, to Daniel and Elizabeth Bauer Pfennig. At age 7, he moved to Driscoll onto the land he called home to the very end. He was a product of, and in 1952 graduated from, the Driscoll Public School. On March 8, 1953, he married Ann Shirley Fricke, and they were blessed with four children, eleven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. After Ann’s passing in 2000, he married Jo Olson on July 3, 2003. He was proud to have worked on many of the projects that improved North Dakota’s infrastructure, from Garrison Dam to most of the roads that bind North Dakotans together. Farming was his true calling and in 1968 he came home from the road and answered that call until his last breath. Butch was a man defined by hard work and love for the land, traits he passed to his offspring. The family finds it fitting that he died while working his land, seeing his livestock through a storm. If we had to lose him, this was the best way. He was a man defined by his service to others. Without fail he would offer work to someone in need, fix their car, or at least see that they had a hot meal and a safe night’s rest. He was a man defined by his many friends. Everyone around Driscoll knew Butch and saw him as a pillar of the community. Many a night in and around the area he helped his colleagues leave the day’s hard labor behind with his quick smile and witty retorts. He is survived by his wife, Jo; two daughters and sons-in-law, Judith Pfennig and David Denson, Clifton, VA, and Shelly and George Davenport, Raeford, NC; two sons and daughters-in-law, Paul and Alice Pfennig, Janesville, MN, and Kent and Catherine Pfennig, Driscoll, ND; four sisters, Florence Brownlee, Fargo, ND, Melda Pfennig, Marengo, IL, Leona Boehler, Yakima, WA, and Betty Ryan, Woodbridge, CA; one brother, Orville Pfennig, Woodbridge, CA; ten grandchildren, Elizabeth and Daniel Denson, Jessica Marnné, Joshua and Rachel Pfennig, Allen, Kelene, Jacob, Sean and Eugene N. Pfennig and one great-grandchild, Grace Evelyn Pfennig. Butch was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Ann, mother of his children; his granddaughter, Kristen; his parents, Daniel and Elizabeth; sisters, Clara, Sally, Virginia, Viola and Wilma and brothers, Raymond, Edwin, Willis and Allen. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Grace Lutheran Church, Driscoll.

Eugene Pfennig

February 2, 1934 - July 28, 2008