Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 270823
Title: Joel Pfenning
Date: 4/4/1952-3/12/2023
Inscription/Marks: 4/4/1952
Summary: Joel Pfenning, loving husband, brother, father, grandfather and friend, passed away unexpectedly at his home on March 12, 2023, in Bismarck, ND. A celebration of Joel’s life was held March 17, 2023, at Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck. Joel was born April 4, 1952, to Henry and Rose (Aipperspach) Pfenning, beating his twin sister, Joyce, by only 20 minutes. He claims he grew up being taunted by sheep and mice on the family farm west of Hannover, ND, finally moving to civilization (Bismarck) when he was seven years old. Once in Bismarck, he went to school at Saxvik, Simle, and graduated from Bismarck High School in 1971. In 1972 Joel met his wife, Lora, at the Starlite Drive-In Theater. They were married later that same year and had two daughters, Jennifer and Kimberly, and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past November. He began working as a boom truck operator for Atlas, Inc. when he was 19 years old and continued to run the boom truck for Knife River Corporation until illness forced his retirement in 2016. Many co-workers enjoyed entertaining family and friends with stories of his abilities, such as picking up and moving pop cans without denting the aluminum. In retirement, Joel was a handyman, he loved wood-working and tinkering around his tool shed and was happy to lend out his tools, but only if you ‘put sh*t back where you found it’! Joel was always the first person to fire up his snowblower after a winter storm and wouldn’t dare miss a week mowing the lawn in the summer. Bull-headed and stubborn, his grandkids will remember him refusing to ask for help even when he needed it. Whether he was climbing on roofs, crawling under cars, or pouring concrete, he was happiest when he was being helpful. Against all odds, Joel was winning a long battle with kidney cancer. His perseverance earned him the title of Superman! He disliked being babied and his family was continuously amazed at his ability to stay positive throughout his many doctor visits, hospital stays and treatments. Joel loved the outdoors spending lots of weekends camping and fishing with his brothers, sisters, and many nieces and nephews. He shared a unique connection with his twin sister, Joyce, and his great-niece, Shandy. Joel had an amazing relationship with all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, never missing an opportunity to do something silly to make them laugh or to spoil them when he could. He is survived by his wife, Lora (Ereth); daughters, Jennifer (William, Jr.) Bianco, and Kimberly Pfenning; nearly adopted daughter, Shandy; grandchildren, Molly, Emily, Erick (Sarah), Kayshaun, Keyana and Eliejah; bonus grandchildren, William III, Elizabeth, Alexis, Nickolas (Ashley), Vincenzo (Hannah) and Michael; 12 great-grandchildren; brothers, Darold (Marlys), Jerome, and Clyde (Cindy); sister, Joyce Hellman (Jerry Auch); brothers-in-law, Vern, Dennis (Vonnie), Gus (Sherry), Roy (Lori), Paul, and Terry (Sandy) Ereth; and sisters-in-law, Linda (Ben Schafer), and Margaret (Tim Schell). Joel was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Rose Pfenning; sisters, Marlene (Patrick Sullivan) and Donna (Joseph Stein); brothers-in-law, Peter Hellman, Ray, Don, Ed, and Jerry Ereth; and sisters-in-law, Marlene (Jim Bergum), and Vi (Vogel) Pfenning.
Red ID: FND_I_78322

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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