Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 272086
Title: Duane D. Tessier
Date: 10/22/1946-2/3/2026
Inscription/Marks: 10/22/1946
Summary: Duane Dennis Tessier, age 79, of Dickinson, ND, passed away on February 3, 2026, at CHI St. Alexius Health, Dickinson. Funeral Mass was held February 10, 2026, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Richardton, ND, with Father Thomas Wordkemper OSB celebrating. Entombment was at the Dickinson Mausoleum. Duane was born on October 22, 1946, in Dickinson, to Henry and Florence (Burwick) Tessier. He was raised on the family farm south of Belfield and attended country school, then graduated from Belfield High School in 1965. Duane attended Bismarck State College for two years. After college, Duane worked multiple jobs including running heavy equipment, road construction, and equipment transportation. In the early 1970’s Duane began his lifelong career in the oil and gas industry from roustabout, workover rigs, drilling rigs, consulting, and all the way up to management. In 1971 Duane married Connie Schneider and to this union a son, Darren, was born. Duane continued working in the oil industry, employed with Amerada Hess, where he met the love of his life, Cindy Steckler, and they were married on October 1, 1980. Duane fell in love with and adopted Cindy’s son Brett, and later another son, Leigh, was born to complete the family of three boys. His oilfield career took the family to Bowman, ND, while Duane was employed with Total Petroleum. A short stint in 1992 sent the family to Houston, TX, and returned to Bowman in 1995 to oversee the construction of a major project in the area for Total. After the completion of this project, Duane started working a rotation in the oilfields of Argentina. After Total was sold, Duane started a partnership with his son Leigh that included a trucking company, raising cattle, and other business ventures. In 2006 the couple moved to the Steckler family farm north of Richardton. During this time Duane also formed a partnership with good friend, Chad Boehm, running a roustabout company in the Bakken oilfields. In 2011 Duane retired from the roustabout service but remained involved in his other business ventures, soldiering on persistently until his health began to fail. Duane and Cindy enjoyed spending time in Arizona during the winters, taking a break from the North Dakota cold. In his earlier years, Duane cherished his fishing and hunting trips to Canada with family and friends. Since childhood, Duane had been an avid Green Bay Packers fan. He enjoyed golfing with his brothers, family members, and friends. Duane was a member of the Bowman Rotary Club, and a lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus. Duane was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He cherished time with his family and especially loved attending his grandchildren’s events, proudly serving as Jordan and Chase’s biggest fan and expert coach from the sidelines. Duane is survived by his beloved wife, Cindy Tessier, of Dickinson; his sons: Darren (Daniela) Tessier of Arvada, CO, Brett Tessier of Charleston, SC, Leigh (Tanya) Tessier of Dickinson; his grandchildren, Henry, Jordan, Chase, and William; his mother-in-law, Eleanor Steckler of Bismarck; his sisters, Lavonne Goetsch-Below and Ardelle Tibor, both of Dickinson, his brothers: Ron (Marcie) Tessier of Dickinson, Tom Tessier and Guy (Cathy) Tessier, both of Belfield; brother-in-law, Terry (Diane) Steckler of Bismarck; and numerous nieces and nephews. Duane was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Florence Tessier; his father-in-law, William Steckler; his foster sister, Ethel Thoreson; his brothers-in-law, George Goetsch, Charles Tibor, and Jerry Below.
Red ID: FND_I_79580

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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