Rodney Douglas Nygard, age 77 of Edinburg, North Dakota, passed away November 27 at the Good Samaritan Center in Park River, North Dakota.
Rodney was born February 28, 1945, in Grafton, North Dakota, to Johnny and Myrtle (Skrogstad) Nygard. He attended Tiber School through eighth grade and graduated from Edinburg High School in 1963. He enlisted in the National Guard Honor Guard in 1963 and served until 1971. He attended North Dakota State University during winter quarters, but his love for the family farm called him home, where he became a third generation farmer. He worked construction for his uncle George Rustan, who built Trinity Lutheran Church in Edinburg, and farmed until his retirement in 2011. Even after his farm accident in 2012, he was able to help out on the farm, which was his greatest passion.
On December 27, 1969, Rodney married Janice Lillico, and they made their home on the Nygard home place and raised their children, Stacy and Chris, on the family farm. Family was of utmost importance to Rodney, and he enjoyed attending his kids’ events along with his grandchildren’s many activities.
A faithful servant, Rodney was a member of Odalen and Trinity Lutheran churches and served on the church councils for several terms. He taught Sunday school for many years and was also a youth fellowship advisor. He was a leader of L&T Livestock 4-H Club, Tiber Township supervisor, and director for the Edinburg Cenex. His pride for his community ran deep.
Rodney had many interests. He was an avid follower of the Bison football team and the BGMR Gators, but he could recite stats and names of numerous sports teams whether it be basketball, football, or golf. Class B basketball was his greatest entertainment. He enjoyed driving his Ranger to check on the fields, fishing, hunting, reading, and being outdoors on the farm.
He lived well and loved yearly fishing trips to Canada, and he especially liked salmon fishing in Alaska and on Lake Michigan with his son, Chris. His cousins’ trips to Norway were memorable, especially visiting the Nygard home place by Elverum, Norway, with his family. Traveling was high on his agenda; his favorite adventures were scuba diving in Maui, swimming in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, cruising the Panama Canal and the Caribbean, with Mexico as his all time favorite destination.
Rodney is survived by his wife Janice, to whom he was married for 52 years, a legacy of great love, his daughter, Stacy (Bradley) Dahl, Greenbush, MN and son, Chris (Courtney), Edinburg, ND; seven grandchildren, Cassidy, McKenzie and Lexie Dahl, and Aspynn, Everly, Aria, and Ace Nygard; sibling Joyce Nygard, Middleton, WI; sisters-in-law: Sam Nygard, Brooklyn Park, MN, Elin Nygard, Edinburg, ND, Marjorie (Garry) Kihne, Cavalier, ND; nephews: Jon, Danny, Thom, Aaron, Adam, Steven, Scott and their families, and nieces; Sarah, Heather, Anne Kristine, Tina, Alissa, and their families.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Johnny and Myrtle, brothers: Clint and Wayne Nygard; brothers-in-law: Bill Sullivan, Conrad Lillico, Jr., and Terry Niemcryk; sister-in-law, Carol Niemcryk; mother-in-law, Cecelia Lillico and father-in-law, Conrad Lillico, Sr.
“Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.”
Rodney taught us great lessons… how to have faith and seek adventures, how to appreciate time with family, how work and play is sometimes all the same, how our Norwegian roots run deep, but how the world is also at our fingertips, and how love lasts forever. He lived well, he was well loved, and we will greatly miss him.
Funeral services will be Friday, December 2, 2022 at 10:30 A.M. at the Trinity Lutheran Church, Edinburg, ND. Visitation will be Thursday from 5-7 with a prayer service at 7:00 P.M. at the Tollefson Funeral Home of Edinburg. Friends may also call at the church on Friday for one hour prior to the service. Military rites will be provided by the Edinburg American Legion Post and the North Dakota National Guard Honor Guard.
Rodney was born February 28, 1945, in Grafton, North Dakota, to Johnny and Myrtle (Skrogstad) Nygard. He attended Tiber School through eighth grade and graduated from Edinburg High School in 1963. He enlisted in the National Guard Honor Guard in 1963 and served until 1971. He attended North Dakota State University during winter quarters, but his love for the family farm called him home, where he became a third generation farmer. He worked construction for his uncle George Rustan, who built Trinity Lutheran Church in Edinburg, and farmed until his retirement in 2011. Even after his farm accident in 2012, he was able to help out on the farm, which was his greatest passion.
On December 27, 1969, Rodney married Janice Lillico, and they made their home on the Nygard home place and raised their children, Stacy and Chris, on the family farm. Family was of utmost importance to Rodney, and he enjoyed attending his kids’ events along with his grandchildren’s many activities.
A faithful servant, Rodney was a member of Odalen and Trinity Lutheran churches and served on the church councils for several terms. He taught Sunday school for many years and was also a youth fellowship advisor. He was a leader of L&T Livestock 4-H Club, Tiber Township supervisor, and director for the Edinburg Cenex. His pride for his community ran deep.
Rodney had many interests. He was an avid follower of the Bison football team and the BGMR Gators, but he could recite stats and names of numerous sports teams whether it be basketball, football, or golf. Class B basketball was his greatest entertainment. He enjoyed driving his Ranger to check on the fields, fishing, hunting, reading, and being outdoors on the farm.
He lived well and loved yearly fishing trips to Canada, and he especially liked salmon fishing in Alaska and on Lake Michigan with his son, Chris. His cousins’ trips to Norway were memorable, especially visiting the Nygard home place by Elverum, Norway, with his family. Traveling was high on his agenda; his favorite adventures were scuba diving in Maui, swimming in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, cruising the Panama Canal and the Caribbean, with Mexico as his all time favorite destination.
Rodney is survived by his wife Janice, to whom he was married for 52 years, a legacy of great love, his daughter, Stacy (Bradley) Dahl, Greenbush, MN and son, Chris (Courtney), Edinburg, ND; seven grandchildren, Cassidy, McKenzie and Lexie Dahl, and Aspynn, Everly, Aria, and Ace Nygard; sibling Joyce Nygard, Middleton, WI; sisters-in-law: Sam Nygard, Brooklyn Park, MN, Elin Nygard, Edinburg, ND, Marjorie (Garry) Kihne, Cavalier, ND; nephews: Jon, Danny, Thom, Aaron, Adam, Steven, Scott and their families, and nieces; Sarah, Heather, Anne Kristine, Tina, Alissa, and their families.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Johnny and Myrtle, brothers: Clint and Wayne Nygard; brothers-in-law: Bill Sullivan, Conrad Lillico, Jr., and Terry Niemcryk; sister-in-law, Carol Niemcryk; mother-in-law, Cecelia Lillico and father-in-law, Conrad Lillico, Sr.
“Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.”
Rodney taught us great lessons… how to have faith and seek adventures, how to appreciate time with family, how work and play is sometimes all the same, how our Norwegian roots run deep, but how the world is also at our fingertips, and how love lasts forever. He lived well, he was well loved, and we will greatly miss him.
Funeral services will be Friday, December 2, 2022 at 10:30 A.M. at the Trinity Lutheran Church, Edinburg, ND. Visitation will be Thursday from 5-7 with a prayer service at 7:00 P.M. at the Tollefson Funeral Home of Edinburg. Friends may also call at the church on Friday for one hour prior to the service. Military rites will be provided by the Edinburg American Legion Post and the North Dakota National Guard Honor Guard.