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Page, 2 THE WALSH COUNTY PRESS ° WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2 I, 2015 .....................
:a
Joseph Westby
Joseph Westby, 77, Bismarck, passed away January 7,
2015, at Sanford Health, Bismarck. Services were held at
11:00 am Monday, January 12, 2015, at Trinity Lutheran
Church, Bismarck, with Rev. Steve Sathre officiating.
Buriaf will be held at Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck.
Visitation was held from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Sunday,
January 11, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler
Parkway, Bismarck.
Joseph Arlo Westby was born February 9, 1937, in
Bellingham, WA, while his parents, Oscar and Anna, were
visiting relatives there. He was raised on a farm near
Fairdale, ND, and educated there, graduating from Fairdale
High School. While a student, he participated in sports,
band, choir, and drama productions at the high school. The
Westby family had its own band for a time during which he played tram-
pet, poorly, he often said. He also taught himself saxophone, clarinet and
violin, and tinkered with each of them for a time. Upon graduation, he
received a scholarship to, attended, and graduated from Concordia Col-
lege, Moorhead, MN, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He attained a ma-
jor in biology and a minor in chemistry.
In 1955, he married Dorothy Nye in Lawton, ND. They had six chil-
dren: Timothy Scott, Pamela Kay, Lisa Maureen, Thomas Oscar,
Theodore Edward, and Erik Charles. Joe's children and grandchildren were
always important to him and central to his life, even though they were scat-
tered all over the country. Joe loved his children dearly, and they loved
the state organization.
It was in August 1982, at the Governor's Conference on
Education at Bismarck State College, that he met Rita Kel-
ly, then an English teacher at Bismarck High School. They
were married on March 18, 1983, in Bismarck. Rim's daugh-
ter, Shea, became Joe's stepdaughter, and the two of them
have enjoyed a close relationship ever since. When Shea
married Tarek in 2004, she was escorted down the aisle by
Joe and Rita in both her weddings in Boston and Beirut,
Lebanon.
In 1990, Joe was seiected by the NDEA Board of Di-
rectors to be its Executive Director. In that role, he super-
vised the state staff, field staffand support staff, and man-
aged the programs of professional development, member
advocacy, public relations, government relations, and the budget, while
lobbying state agencies and the Legislature. He took his role in manag-
ing the association seriously and often worked long days and weekends
to assure he could make the organization as successful as it could be and
a credible representative of its members to government agencies, the pub-
lic, students, and members across the state and nation..Because of his long
work schedule, he was not able to participate in choirs, singing groups,
and service organizations which he would have liked to do as he did as
a teacher. In his 16 years as the NDEA Executive Director, he served a
term on the National Council of State Education Associations of the Na-
tional Education Association representing the nine states of the NEA Mid-
him in return. He was respected for his sage advice and was a generous west Region. As such, he participated in setting policy for the NEA on
man in so many ways.
He'attended the University of North Dakota, graduating with a Bach-
elor of Science in Education degree, and began his teaching career in Val-
ley City Public Schools in the fall of 1961. He taught science in the jun-
ior high school for three years, during which time he was invited to par-
ticipate in a statewide writing project to develop a new science curricu-
lum for junior high sciences sponsored by the North Dakota Department
of Public Instruction. Much of that curriculum is still in use in schools
today. Joe then returned to UND under a National Science Foundation Fel-
lowship, obtaining his Masters in Science Teaching degree in 1965,
After obtaining his masters degree, he returned to Valley City High
School where he taught chemistry and advanced biology--a course he de-
signed and implemented for seniors pursuing careers in the medical fields.
He also created a chemistry course with enhanced opportunity for labo-
ratory work for students occupying seven hours per week rather than the
traditional five hours. He was proud of the success of his students, many
of them pursuing careers in medicine, dentistry, engineering, optometry,
nursing, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine, among other distinguished
~ careers. He is especially proud of Congressman Earl Pomeroy's ac-
complishmentS. Earl often jokes, "It was Mr. Westby's chemistry class
that caused me to enter politics." And, Joe concurred. "Earl made a wise
career choice."
While teaching in Valley City, Joe was active in his church, teaching
Sunday School, the Bethel Bible Series course for adults, singing in the
church choir, participating in the church men's organization, and coach-
ing the high school science club and the high school science fair organ-
ization in which Valley City students were often among the winners cho-
sen to attend the National Science Fair. He also was a Cub Scout Pack
Leader, sang in the Valley City Troubadours Men's Chorus and a quit-
tet, was active in the District #24 Democratic Party-- serving as district
chairman for four years with successful elections to the state Legislature-
-and was a member of the Valley City Elks Club. He also taught organ-
ic chemistry to pre-medicine students at Valley City State College dur-
ing the summer. He often credits his sales experience with World Book
Encyclopedia as contributing to his ability to communicate with people
the national scene. He also represented NDEA along with the NDEA Pres-
ident of The Northern Tier (TNT), On organization of five small rural states
with similar demographic issues in the northern part of the country. He
served as treasurer of that organization for a number of years. Along with
the NDEA President, he represented North Dakota educators in the nine-
state Midwest Region of the NEA. He Served on the Advisory Board of
Directors for the Horace Mann Insurance Company for ten years and par-
ticipated in setting policy for the improvement of the services from the
insurance company to education association members across the coun-
try. In his tenure as Executive Director, he attended nearly all of the na-
tional conventions of the National Education Association held in various
cities across the country. The NEA Representative Assembly is the largest
deliberative body in the world and sets education policy for the organi-
zation on an annual basis. As Executive Director of NDEA, he enjoyed
the organizational challenges and the opportunities it gave him to utilize
his expertise in designing new programs and solving problems for the or-
ganization. He was responsible for leading the organization into a strate-
gic planning process over the course of three years that resulted in the pro-
duction of a document to guide the association for a number of years into
the future. In his 16-year tenure as Executive Director, he worked with
four elected presidents and numerous members of the 17-member Board
of Directors, as well as a great, dedicated and committed staffofprofes-
sionals. He was proud of the accomplishments of the association and cred-
its those accomplishments to the dedicated staff and elected leaders who
work in the association.
2006 was not a good year health-wise for Joe as he underwent quin-
tuple coronary bypass surgery in February, suffered kidney failure in May,
necessitating dialysis three times a week, and then a second heart attack
"in July resulting in his being air-ambulanced to Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
MN, to implant three coronary stents. On Christmas Eve, 2006, he had
emergency colon surgery. The health problems resulted in his retirement
from the NDEA on December 31, 2006, after 46 years in education, 26
of them with NDEA. He loved working for the association and missed
the oppommities he had serving education and its members.
He was honored when NDEA established the Joseph A. Westby Lead-
and helping him dvercoming his basic shyness. Always a believer in his ership Award within the NDEA Foundation to be presented to a deserv-
professional association, he served as chiefneg0tiat0r for the Valley City ing member or staffperson. He was alsonamed to Who~s WhoAmong
' Education Association for several- years and president of VCEA for one Outs .tanding Business Executives'tbr his work in association management.
term. He served on:file North Dakota Education Association Board of Di- In 2010 Joe was awarded the Adrian R. Dunn Friend of Education Award
',rectors for six and one half years and became a member of its part-time in recognition of serVice to teaching and schools: .....
": field staffprior to joining the full-time staffin 1980.
Joe was honored by being named Outstanding Young Educator in Barnes
County in 1965 and was runner-up in the Outstanding Young Educator
contest statewide that same year. He was named to Outstanding Young
Men of America in 1967, and was named to the Personalities of the West
and Midwest in the 1969-1970 edition.
In 1980, after nineteen years in the classroom, he left teaching to work
full-time as a UniServ director for the North Dakota Education Associ-
ation in its Valley City field office. He loved every minute of his time teach-
ing students and always missed his time spent with them. In his new role,
he providedprofessional development opportunities, negotiations train-
ing, member rights representation, political action training, and organi-
zational development opportunities for teachers in the southeastern area
of the state. In 1983, he transferred to the Bismarck headquarters office
to assume a UniServ position and the research and bargaining position for
Joe is survived by his wife Rim Kelly, Bismarck; his brother Norman
(Joy) Westby, Pelican Rapids, MN; 2 daughters: Pamela, Colorado Springs,
CO, and Lisa (Dan) Peltier, Valley City; 4 sons: Timothy (Ann), Hous-
ton, TX; Thomas (Gabriella), Colorado Springs, CO; Theodore, Atlanta,
GA; and Erik (Shawn Miller), San Ramon, CA; one step-daughter, Shea
Kelly (Tarek Assali), Wellesley, MA; and 12 grandchildren: Katherine,
Elena and John Westby; Jody Westby; Dylan, Desmond and Demi Pelti-
el'; Claudia Westby; Graham and Edward Westby; and Thomas and Chiara
Assali; and Holli Westby and Jackie Westby.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Oscar Julius and Anna West-
by, and his sister and brother=in-law, Marie Ann and Charles Briscoe.
Memorials may be given to the Joseph A. Westby Leadership Award
program with the NDEA Foundation.
Go to www.parkwayfuneral.com to share memories of Joe and sign the
online guestbook.
Her An F kekke
Henry Arvil
Brekke, 89, Park
River (formerly
Grand Forks, Inkster,
and Griffon), died
on Monday, Jan. 12,
2015 in the First
Care Health Center,
Park River.
Arvil was born
Nov. ll, 1925, to
John and Tilda
(Strand) Brekke, in
Grafton, ND., where he grew up.
He attended the Sinkler School in
rural Griffon. He married Gloria
Gendreau on Oct. 20, 1950 in Olga,
ND. Arvil served as a Corporal in
the U.S. Infantry during the Kore-
an War where he received a Purple
Heart for Wounds Received in Ac-
tion. Arvil and Gloria moved from
Griffon to their farm in Inkster, ND
where they happily resided for
many years raising livestock and
small grains.
He is survived by his brother, El-
ton (Eileen) Brekke, Yuma, AZ;
nephew Elton (Karen) Brekke,
Grand Forks, ND; nieces Leslie
¢
Brekke, Tucson,
AZ, Carol Brekke,
Grafton, ND, Jenny
(Greg) Baumgag-
ner, Tucson, AZ,
.... Shelly (Jerry) Betl,
Dodge Center, MN;
a great niece, and
four great nephews.
,. He W~as prec~eded
in deg~byhismife;
p~/rentg:," - fiifant
dau~-hter, "" lgffi~y
Beth; ~ md sister, Lillian Larson.,
Set vices: 10:30 a.m. Saturday.,
Jan. l'i' at Bakke Funeral ttrmae,'l:a-
firnor~ :, ND Visitation onehour pri-
or to l ~he service. ""
Bu fial will be in St?,M~/rk's
Ceme ~ery of Conway, ND.
BP ~KKE FUNERAL HOME,
LARI MORE, ND
Orll~e guestbook: www.bakke-
funera lhomes.com
Off iciating"wjl! be Pastor Tom
Colenl ~on. Honorary Pallbearers
will bq~,' Waitress~es fronttheNorth-
side C'. afr. Military Honors will be
by thl :;ND National Guard Honor
Team i
Ronald D. lastre.
Ronald D. Mas-
tre, age 74 of Park
River, ND passed
away on Tuesday,
January 13, 2015 at
Altru Hospital of
Grand Forks.
Ronald D. Mastre
was born February
26, 1940 in Walsh
County, ND the son
of the late Vernon
and Norma (Gille-
spie) Mastre. He at- ,
tended rural school between
Grafton and ParkRiver. Following
his education he worked constmc-
Ricky . M~;stre,
i Grand Forks, ND;
grandchildren:
Melissa Jelinek,
Stephanie Aune,
.Stac:ySAun~ Austin
A~me, Patrick Aune,
. and ffrav[ :Flade-
land, seven-great
grafl~tchild~ri, his
sister, Ruth Elznic,
Park River, ND and
brotber,Not (L da)
Mastre,3Nest argo,
ND; niece, Sami Swartz( Grand
Fork i;, ND. Several nieceg:-and
nephe;ws also survive. He was pre-
tion for a time. He later started cedecl in death by his parents, sis-
working forE~'l'Mafi~0~efi Farms ter, J~ mi~ Skjordaff.twin brother,
and worked there until retiring in Donald and"rrrtl~er; ~-dn~eth.
the early 2000's. Ronaldwas unit- Fui nemtI s~i'vices.:were ~eld Fri-
ed in marriage to Joan Gillies on day, Ji muary 16, 2015atJ t':00 A.M.
February 25, 1995 in Park River. atlhe Paf~ River Federated Church.
The couple has made their home in Visita tiol was Friday for one.hour
Park River since, prior :to tie service at ~¢hurch.
Ron was a member of the Park Inl~ ement will be~/if ~emorial
River Volunteer Fire Department Park (~enetery, p~k:Rj'v'er,:ND
and the Park River Jaycee's, He en- An onine guest book:is available
joyed fishing very much. at: wu m,.bl[efso erallaome.com
Ronald is survived by his wife, TN e Tollefson-Funetal Home of
Joan of Park River, ND children: Park River is in charge of the
Patti Mastre, Park River, ND and arran~i ~ements. ' :
(;;,
aeee=e.mt on me mm.jOht away uimj her
nacKgrouna nommg out a o=ur.
Pembina Hills L.utheran, Mountain
Thursday: 2 p.m. Worship Borg. Sunday.: 9:15 Worship
10:30 Worship Vikur. 9:15 Sunday School
at Trinity
Trinity Lutheran, Edinburg
Sunday.: 9:15 Sunday School. 10:30 Worship
Tue: 9:00 Women's Bible Study
St John,s Nepomucene Catholic Church, Pisek
Saturday 5:00 a.m.
St Joseph's Catholic Church, Lankin (www.plbtdpadsh.0q]/)
Sunday 8:30 a.m.
St Bdgid of Ireland Catholic Church, Cavalier
Saturday Mass: 5 p.m.. Sunday Mass: 10:30 a.m.. Monday
7 a.m. • Wednesday: 6:00 p.m.
& Friday:
Our Saviours Lutheran Church, Park River
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. Coffee Fellowship, 10 a.m. Worship
Lutheran Church, Hoople
Sunday School stating at 9 AM. Church services at 10AM
St. Mary's Church
Saturday: 9:30 a.m. Good Sam. Center 5 p.m. St. Mary's, Park River
Sunday: 8 a.m. St. Luke's, Veseleyville. 10 a.m. St. Mary's, Park River
etory Free Lutheran Churd' , Park River
Wednesday: 6 pm Confirmation class 7pro, Wi riGS,: 7 pm Youth Bible Study,
4 m ;n h Ifr I .
7 pm Adult Bible Study. Sunday: 9: 5a. , i u day Sc go o al a!es,
10:30a.m. Coffee and fe IIIowship:, / "
11:00a.m. Worship s( wice :
Grace Free Lutheran Churclh, Edinburff
Sunday: 9 a.m. Church Services/10:15 a.m. Sunday School .......
Every Thursday: 9 a.m. Bilole Study .........
Bethel Baplist Church, River :
Sunday: 9:30 a.m. worship, 10:45 a.m. Fello! tship • Wednesday: Awana
Children's Ministry 6.'00 p.m... Tuesday: lar8!¢er & Bible study at 7:00 p.m
Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church, Bechyne
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Crystal
Sunday Mass: 8:30 a:m.. Tuesday: 5:30 p.m.. Thursday: 7 a.m.
Federated Church
Sunday: 9 a.m. Worship (Fordville) • 9:30 a.m. Sunday School
(Park River). 10:45 a.m. Worship (Park River)
Apostolic Faith Church, Park River
Services at the Park River City Building Meeting Room on Sundays at 6pm.
I-loft Lutheran Church, Rural Adams
Sunday: 9 a.m, Worship
Our Redeemer's, Failrdale e
Sunday: 9:30 a.m. Worship
IRBST UNITED
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Park River - 284-7244
Adams ~ 944-2231
Grafton ~ 352-3668
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Hoople ~ 894-6123
Crystal ~ 657-2168
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403 Briggs Ave. So., P.O. Box 49, Park River, N.D. 58270
Phone: (701) 284-6,3,33. FAX: (701) 284-6091
E-mail: wcpress@polarcomm.com
The Walsh County Press, Inc. (U.S.RS. Pub. No. 665320) is published weekly on Wednesdays
for $34.00 per year in Walsh County, $38.00 for out of county, $42.00 per year for the rest of
North Dakota and out of state, from The Press building, Park River, North Dakota. Please
allow 3weeks to start new subscriptions or change of address
(U.S.P.S. Pub. No. 665-320)
Periodicals postage paid a~ Park River, N.D., and addil~ mailing 0ff~e POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to The Walsh County Press, P.O. Box 49, Park River, ND 58270.
Brook Dahlgren Office Manager
Nordmark Publishing Publishertam/Bid Freelance Photographer
140 Viking Dr., Rugby, ND 58368 Kellen Dobmeier Staff Writer
Allison Olimb Editor-in Chief
Policy on Corrections
Any error should be reported immediately. Please check the accuracy of your adve rtisement the first day of insertion.
The Walsh County Press will offer a free reprint in the event of ',an internal error.
BUS~NESS Holms - - "
The Walsh County Press is open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. 'Submission deadline is Thursday at noon.
Phone 701-284-6333 • Fax 701-284-6091 • Email: wcpres s@polarcomm.¢om
LET~AR.W VOICES POLICY
The Walsh County Press will accept letters to the editor and other Submissions on issue o fpublic interest. To be published, letter/article
must be signed and include your address. Unsigned letters will not be considered: Lette rs may not be qsed to thank ~pecific peopl~or
organizations. - The Walsh County Press reserves the right to shorten letters, edit out fact iaal errors and_~eject tliogi~ deemed libelous, in
poor taste or of a personal nature. - The Walsh County Press will not run letters from the sameauthor two weeks in a row. All opinions
expressed are those of the author and do not represent the opinions of The Walsh County 1: ~ress - Letters
must be legible.
- Preference will be given to letters from the Walsh County area. Letters from outside thte area will be
considered if they are of sufficient interest.
Official newspaper of the City of Park River, the City of Edinburg, the schools of Park River Area, and the sc hools of.Valley-Edinburg.
