Raymond Lewis DeBoer Sr. Obituary (1927 - 2012)

Raymond Lewis DeBoer Sr., 85, Bismarck, North Dakota, passed away Saturday, December 1, 2012 at Sanford Health, Bismarck. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 AM Wednesday, December 5, 2012, at DaWise-Perry Funeral Chapel with Rev. Dale Nabben officiating. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens. Visitation is scheduled from 5-7 PM, Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at DaWise-Perry Funeral Services, Mandan. Visitation continues one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Raymond was born May 7, 1927, at Nicholson, North Dakota, to Louis and Minnie (Van Dyke) DeBoer. He was raised in Cogswell and attended country school just east of the family farm in Nicholson, North Dakota. On July 2, 1949, he married Gail Sprout in Turtle Lake, North Dakota. Raymond worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company for 38 years, retiring in 1985. After retirement, Ray enjoyed tinkering with woodworking and lawn mower engines. He especially enjoyed working on Lawn-Boy lawn mowers. Ray was a jack of all trades and a master of each one. He was always willing to help give his time to anyone with any project they were working on or asked for his help. People would come to him to seek his advice on building antennas for amateur radio. For many years, he was an everyday member of the Amateur Radio Coffee and Auctioneer Coffee group at McDonald's and then at Arby's. He was a member of Central Dakota Amateur Radio Club (CDARC), the Bismarck Moose, and AMVETS. He is survived by one son, Ray and Marie (Lillestol) DeBoer Jr., Bismarck; one daughter, Debra (Randy) Schumacher, Bismarck; four grandchildren, Michelle (Travis) Almer, Bossier City, Louisiana, and Melissa DeBoer and Stuart Klein, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bryce Kitzan, Bismarck and Craig Kitzan, Bismarck; four great-grandchildren, Tyler and Wyatt Almer, Bossier City, Louisiana, and Kohan and Sonny Klein, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ray was preceded in death by his, wife of 59 years, Gail (Sprout) DeBoer; parents; and his brothers and sisters.