Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 270251
Title: Duane G. Elness
Date: 8/4/1952-9/17/2023
Creator:
Inscription/Marks: 8/4/1952
Summary: Duane Gene Elness, 71, Cavalier, ND, formerly of Sterling, ND, died peacefully September 17, 2023, in Mandan, ND. A private family interment has taken place. Duane was born in Bismarck, ND, on August 4, 1952, just a few minutes after his identical twin brother, Dwight Dean, to Curtis and Doris (Tompt) Elness. He was raised on the family farm north of Sterling, where he attended grade school. He graduated from Bismarck Senior High in 1970, and graduated summa cum laude, with a BA in English from UND in 1974. He was also inducted into the academic society, Phi Beta Kappa. In 1977, he returned to UND and earned a degree of J.D. in 1980. He practiced law in Cavalier, ND from 1980 to 1998. Duane then took a job at a factory and enjoyed working with the people there. His last - and favorite - job was with the soil conservation district in Park River, ND, working as a technician designing and helping plant windbreaks and shelterbelts. He retired in 2018. Trees were at the top of his many interests. In 1993 he purchased a quarter of mostly wooded land near Cavalier and lived in a cottage that he built at the edge of those woods. He planted and successfully grew a number of unusual shrubs and trees, including hickories, chestnuts and other nut trees in his yard. In 2023 he received the North Dakota Forest Service Distinguished Service  tree award for his dedication to forestry practices and for discovering Champion Trees across the state. His rather large library included books about trees and forests, languages, linguistics, ethnology, literature and history. Watching movies from the 1930s and 1940s was a favorite pastime, but time spent in his woods was when he felt most alive. He leaves behind two sisters, Cynthia Clynch and Barbara Elness (Bruce Ohme); brother, Allen Elness; nephews, Brandon (Paula) Clynch, and Chris (Lesley Hays) Clynch; and great-nieces, Aislyn Clynch and Kailyn Clynch. He was preceded in death by his father, Curtis, mother, Doris, and twin brother, Dean.
Red ID: FND_I_77766 Image ID: 555487 Image Notes: FND001 270251

Collection: FND001 Digitized Images from Collection
Title: SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Date: -

Summary: The North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program is sponsored by the North Dakota Funeral Directors Association. The life stories of deceased North Dakotans are featured in an archvied collection. Current partners in the project are Eastgate Funeral & Cremation Services, Bismarck Evans Funeral Homes, Carrington and New Rockford Everson-Coughlin Funeral Home, Williston Fulkerson Funeral Home, Tioga Fulkerson Funeral Home, Watford City Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Williston Nero Funeral Home, Bottineau Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck Springan Stevenson Funeral Home, Stanley Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson These funeral homes provide recent obituaries to the Foundation, where staff and volunteers format, edit and archive each memorial. The memorials are posted, and copies are sent to the family for their input and approval. The listing currently features more than 13,000 memorials, and is constantly updated as new memorials and histories are received.

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