Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 271579
Title: Merle H. Bickett, Jr.
Date: 9/19/1943-3/3/2025
Creator:
Inscription/Marks: 9/19/1943
Summary: Merle Henry Bickett Jr., 81, passed away unexpectedly at his home on March 3, 2025. A funeral service was held March 11, 2025, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Carrington, ND. Merle was born to Merle, Sr. and Emma Lee Bickett on September 19, 1943. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Carrington and graduated from Carrington High School in 1961. He proudly served as a sergeant in the North Dakota Army National Guard, where he earned the distinction of Expert Rifle Marksman. After his military service, Merle moved to El Segundo, CA, where he worked at LA Lithography as a press inspector. It was here that he met Sheila Helenske, the love of his life. They moved back and were married during a blizzard at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Bremen, ND, on October 11, 1969. Merle and Sheila welcomed their first son, Chad, the following year and started their family in Carrington, where Merle helped with the family farming operation. Later, Merle attended North Dakota State University, graduating with a degree in Agricultural Economics. After returning to Carrington to farm they welcomed their second son, Cody, in 1980 and later built their forever home. Merle transitioned from farming in 1996 to working as a crop adjuster for Rain and Hail Insurance Company, a position he held with great pride and dedication until his passing. When he wasn’t working, Merle found immense joy in spending time with his family, especially attending their various sporting events. He was a lifelong avid hunter, who cherished the annual Colorado hunting trips with his son and grandsons. He also had a deep love for fishing, finding happiness in every cast with his fishing buddies – particularly his good friend Mark Finch. Summers were spent at their lake cabin visiting with family and friends, almost always with a cold drink in hand. A passionate football fan, Merle was a lifelong supporter of the Green Bay Packers. In recent years, he found a knack for gardening and took pride in sharing with his loved ones. Merle is survived by his loving wife, Sheila; sons, Chad (Rachel) and Cody Bickett; grandchildren, Taylor (Cassandra) Bickett, Breanne (Jack) Graven, Ryder Bickett, and Parker Bickett; great-grandchildren, Adalee and Barrett Bickett; a brother, Don (Peggy) Bickett; a sister, Merleen (Bruce) Gussiaas; many nieces and nephews; as well as many friends and extended family who will miss him dearly. He was preceded in death by his parents, Merle Sr. and Emma Lee Bickett, and his brother,
Red ID: FND_I_79075 Image ID: 525584 Image Notes: FND001 271579

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.

Enter a subject or term in one or both of the “Search” boxes.

  • “Item Detail” searches the Title, Creator and Summary fields of all item-level records.
  • “Collection Number” searches the Collection Number field only and requires an exact match.

The “DETAILS” button provides additional information about an item, as well as the following options:

  • “Collection Summary” details the contents of the entire collection in which the selected item is located.
  • You can print the image and its corresponding details by selecting “Print".
  • “Digitized Images from the Collection” returns a list of all digitized items within that collection (available from the “Collection Summary” screen).

Click on image to expand/zoom the image view.

“Photobook home” takes you back to the main Photobook page where you can start a new search.

“Featured Collections” showcases new and/or popular collections and the digitized images within those collections.

Information on how to order copies is located here.

The collections preserved in the North Dakota State Archives include over a million images. Only a small percentage of these images have been digitized. This photo gallery provides a preview of the images that have been digitized.

For more information on the non-digitized images, please refer to the finding aids found on our website at history.nd.gov, or ask a member of our reference staff for assistance.