Thief River Falls - Randall Noper, 90, died Sunday, October 1, 2000 at the CNC Unit of Northwest Medical Center in Thief River Falls.
Funeral services
were held at 2 
p.m. on Sunday,
October 8, at the United Methodist Church in Thief River Falls with
Rev. Dan Horn officiating. Barbara Hauger was the organist, and the
soloist was Shawn Brandon. Casketbearers were Tom Kays, Orville
Hanson, Orin Green, Ron Nelson, Paul Ihle and Fred Dablow. Green
Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
Randall Lewis Noper was born on September 15, 1910 in Good Hope, Ill., the son of V.C. "Valasco" and Ruby (Moore) Noper. When he was one and one-half years old, the family moved to Thief River Falls where Randall grew up and attended school, graduating from Lincoln High School in 1928.
He worked on the Noper family's dairy farm, delivering milk during the early years with a horse-drawn wagon and later with a truck. He also drove school bus for the district for 10 years. Randall worked at various jobs before purchasing Red Top Cabin in 1937 and establishing Noper's Motel in 1954. Randall and Verna sold the business in 1976.
On July 20, 1939, he was united in marriage to Verna Brandon at Thief River Falls, and the couple lived and raised their daughters there. Verna died on June 19, 1989.
On May 19, 1990, Randall married Catherine Simon in Holiday, Fla. The couple maintained their Thief River Falls residence and enjoyed winters in Holiday, Fla.
Randall was a member of the United Methodist Church in Thief River Falls. He was involved with the Thief River Falls Chamber of Commerce and served on various building committees, including the Elks Lodge, Valley Home and Skylite Apartments with HUD where he also served as chairman of the board. He was chairman of the Valley Home board and chairman of the Thief River Falls Foundation. He was a past president of the Minnesota State Motel Association and was honored as Citizen of the Year in Pennington County. The Noper family log home is at Peder Engelstad Pioneer Village, and Randall served on the board of Pennington County Historical Society. As a continuing memory of Randall, Verna and Catherine, he established the Noper Foundation to help fund projects and needs in the community.
He enjoyed life, family and community, and friends will remember how he enjoyed singing wherever given the opportunity.
Survivors include his wife, Catherine; two daughters, Jay "Jeanette" Trentzsch of Medford, Ore. and Karen (Paul) Trentzsch of Canon City, Colo.; four grandchildren; three stepchildren, Lyle (Mary) Simon of St. Louis Park, Catherine (Chuck) Anderson of Delano and Phyllis (Jerry) Quam of East Grand Forks; six step grandchildren; two step great-grandchildren; a sister, Marilyn (Bruce) Harding of Lynchburg, Va.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Verna; parents; a son-in-law, Mike Trentzsch; and a sister, Dorothy McEnelly. A00003B2000OC11