Details

Collection Summary
Collection: FND001 - SHSND Foundation - North Dakota Heritage Family Memorial Program
Series: Tribute
Folder: DIG
Item: 272178
Title: Elaine L. Semingson
Date: 1/19/1941-4/25/2026
Inscription/Marks: 1/19/1941
Summary: Elaine Semingson, 85, of South Heart, ND, passed away April 25, 2026, at Essentia Health, Fargo, ND. A funeral service was held May 2, 2026, at Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson, ND, with Pastor Skott Skones officiating. Burial will take place at a later date. Elaine was born on January 19, 1941, to Robert and Gertrude (Miller) Marty, and was the oldest of ten children. She attended school in Killdeer, ND. Encouraged by her grandmother, Bea, Elaine went on to attend beautician school in Bismarck, ND, where she earned her certificate and license, beginning a career she was proud of. Elaine married Alvin Kohanes on May 23, 1958, and together they made their home in Grassy Butte, ND. There they raised their three children, Julie, Kelly, and Justin. For many years, mom hauled mail on Beicegel Road. She kept a large garden and raised chickens (a lot of chickens). Mom was talented with a needle and thread, making numerous quilts and sewing clothes for her children. Later in life, she was often called upon to mend and patch clothing for her son-in-law and grandsons. Mom also loved cooking and always made sure there was a warm meal waiting for anyone who came to visit. Mom was a member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church and the Ranch Creek Homemakers. She was also actively involved in 4-H, generously helping with activities while her children participated. After her husband Alvin passed away, she moved to Beach, ND, to be closer to her children and grandchildren. Mom worked in various cafes and other businesses. Elaine met the love of her life, Dick Semingson, and the two were married December 12, 1990. After Dick retired from HB&R they spent time living in several different states while deciding where they wanted to make their permanent home. No matter where life took them, they always found themselves returning to North Dakota. They eventually purchased a home in South Heart and knew they were home, especially with some of Elaine’s family nearby. Wherever they lived, mom would always have flowers. She planted trees, small gardens, and always had bird feeders. Mom enjoyed watching the birds and listening to them sing. Each spring, she would worry when the robins had not yet returned, but they always did. If you knew mom you knew how much she loved her dogs; she was always so protective and was always concerned that all animals be treated well. We often teased her she may be treating her dogs too well; they usually were a little (or a lot) overweight. Mom spent a short time at the Golden Valley Manor in Beach, ND, and met a bunch of nice people that she really needed. Mom’s greatest joy in life was her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved staying connected with her family, and we will deeply miss the four or more phone calls each day just to see what we were doing. Mom is survived by her children, Julie (Tyler) Cook, Forsyth, MT, Kelly Kohanes, Forsyth, MT, and Justin (Kiffin) Kohanes, Beach, ND; eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews; siblings, James Marty, AZ, Lynn (Diana) Marty, Hardin, MT, Harold (Beverly) Marty, Clarksville, TN, Charlene (Richard) Schoenbeck, Belfield, ND, Erwin Marty, Dickinson, ND, Peggy (Randy) Hlebchuk, Rhame, ND. Mom was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; her husband, Dick Semingson; siblings, Donna Kono, Leslie Marty and Curtis Marty.
Red ID: FND_I_79670 Image ID: 576001 Image Notes: FND001 272178

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.