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- [S927] Obituary.
RICHARDTON ? Norbert ?Norbs? V. Messer, 67, Richardton, died April 23, 2011, at Richardton Health Center. Services will be held at 10 a.m. MDT Thursday, April 28, at St. Mary?s Catholic Church, Richardton, with the Rev. Boniface Muggli, OSB, officiating. Interment will be at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Military honors will be provided by the Richardton American Legion Theo R. Zech Post No. 180.
Visitation will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m MDT today at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Thursday.
Norbert ?Norbs? Valentine Messer was born May 12, 1943, to Valentine and Eugenia (Urlacher) Messer. He was the fifth of 14 children. Norbert attended country school, graduating from the eighth grade. He stayed home to work on the farm, doing his part in growing up in a large family. A veteran of the Vietnam Era, he served in the U.S. Army from Sept. 9, 1966 to Aug. 15, 1968. He was stationed in Germany.
Upon returning from serving his country, he again worked on the family farm. He took on additional work as a truck driver from 1964 to 1972 for construction companies throughout North and South Dakota and Wyoming. One of his favorite places was Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, where he assisted in building the Interstate Highway system. Norbert returned to farming from 1973 to 1978. In 1979, Norbert returned to Richardton, where he worked for Hoff Machine & Weld and had his own business, Norbs Swinger Service. He was employed as a welder for Lenny?s Repair, then worked with his brother at Antelope Homes from 2005 to 2008, a job he truly loved.
Norbert did welding with perfection and created many of his own trailers and gadgets that were topics of conversation. Norbert built a custom tractor and stacked hay for many of the area farmers and ranchers. He took great pride in his work. Norbert was happy when he was working in his shop repairing small engines or splitting logs with the log splitter he built.
Norbert had a love for people and his Harley Davidson. He had a gift of remembering details of day-to-day occurrences that took place over his lifetime. He remembered the names and conversations of everyone who crossed paths with him. We will never forget his sense of humor and love of good jokes, stories and the practical jokes he played on his family and friends.
He never married but was surrounded by a large family whom he loved and who loved him. He had a special place in his heart for children.
Norbert was a member of the American Legion Post 180 for 42 continuous years. His last home was the Richardton Health Center, where he lived from October 2008 to April 23, 2011.
He was preceded in death by his father, Valentine; his brother, Raymond; Marilyn Messer, sister-in law; Lorene Messer, sister-in-law; Gerald Leingang, brother-in-law; Annette Messer, niece; Belinda Messer, niece; Curtis Praus, nephew; Ryan Kitzan, nephew; Filandro Silva, great-nephew; and Nathan Messer, great-nephew.
Survived by his mother, Eugenia; one brother and 11 sisters, Antonia Anton, Bowman, Irene (Edwin) Kadrmas, Gladstone, Eugenia (Frank) Praus, Dickinson, Jeanette (Robert) Pechtl, Lincoln, Clara McCutchan, Richardton, Gladys (Gary) Goetz, Richardton, Gary (Sharon) Messer, Richardton, Mary Leingang, Mandan, Laura (Larry) Leingang, Richardton, Donna (Dennis) Reich, Richardton, Delphine Messer, Sioux Falls, S.D., and Brenda Kitzan, Center; 39 nieces and 20 nephews; 119 great-nieces and nephews; 14 great-great-nieces and nephews; one aunt, Sister James Messer, Bismarck; and numerous cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to the Richardton Healthcare Foundation Serenity Room Project. (Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, www.ladburyfuneralservice.com)
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1943 - 2011 (67 years)