St. Vincent -
Francis D. Ness, 73, died Wednesday, September 6, 2000 at Kittson
Memorial Healthcare Center in Hallock.
Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 9, at Assumption Catholic Church in Pembina, N.D. with Rev. William Ovsak officiating. Betty Irving was the organist, and the soloist was Karen Ohmann. Casketbearers were Mike Johnson, David Stanhope, Joe Defoe, Gary Karol, Wayne Chale and Helmer Ness. Interment was in St. Vincent Cemetery in St. Vincent with Hughes Funeral Home of Hallock in charge of the arrangements.
Francis was born on April 10, 1927 in Erskine, the son of Helmer and Florinda (Melquist) Ness. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls in 1948 and served with the U.S. Army during World War II. Francis also served with the National Guard for one year.
On June 8, 1951, he was united in marriage to Dorothy Koons at Westhope, N.D. The couple settled in Mohall, N.D. and lived there for several years before moving to Noyes. In 1971, they moved to St. Vincent. Francis worked for Great Northern Railroad for 11 years before taking a job with Jensen Brokerage in Pembina, N.D. He was a manager at the brokerage company until his retirement in 1993.
He was a board member of the Kittson County Historical Society, served as a Boy Scout leader and was a former council member and mayor of St. Vincent. He belonged to Kern Thompson American Legion Post 77 where he was currently serving as adjutant.
Francis enjoyed golf and traveled to area golf courses with the area Senior Tour every Monday.
Survivors include his wife, Dorothy; three daughters, Pamela (Jerry) Anderson of East Grand Forks, Cheryl (Jerry) Cicha of Fargo, N.D. and Laurie Ness of Grand Forks, N.D.; three sons, Michael Ness of St. Vincent, Jon (Kim) Ness of Devils Lake, N.D. and Daniel (Dawn) Ness of West Fargo, N.D.; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; a stepsister, Shirley Sermonwich of Hibbing; and two brothers, Gerald (Beverly) Ness of Moorhead and Ronald (Darlene) Ness of Thief River Falls.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his stepmother, Stella; and one brother, Nolan. A00003B2000SP13