Rodney P Friesz

Rodney P. Friesz, 70, Mandan, ND, passed away Saturday, April 1, 2023, at his home, surrounded by his loving family. A Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM, Thursday, April 6, 2023, at DaWise-Perry Funeral Services, 4211 Old Red Trail, Mandan. Visitation will be from one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in Mandan Union Cemetery.

Rodney was born on July 1, 1952, to Peter and Anna (Vitek) Friesz. He grew up on the family farm located south of Center and attended the Bremann Country School for most of his education, followed by Center High School for two years. The family then moved to Mandan, and he spent the last two years of high school there, graduating from Mandan High School in 1970. After high school, he attended Bismarck Junior College, earning a diploma in Auto Mechanics.

After college, he spent several years at Jim's Ready Mix, driving a mixer truck and becoming the batch man. He loved driving trucks and meeting customers, saying, "He never met a stranger"! After Jim's Ready Mix was closed, he went to work at Atlas, Inc, which later became Knife River, and continued driving a mixer truck. Rodney took extreme pride in keeping his truck clean. He knew the plant inside and out and could fix almost anything. He always had his friend and co-worker Arnold Bentz by his side.

Rodney loved talking to anyone, especially when discussing his favorite things, guns, and vehicles. If you were looking for him, you could find him in his favorite place, Mandan Sporting Goods, drinking coffee and discussing guns with his good friend, Brandon Charvat.

Rodney married the love of his life, Kathy Erhardt, on June 20, 1975. In March of 1977, they welcomed their daughter Lindsay, and in January of 1979, their son Ross, making their family complete. Even though he may not have said it often, he loved and was always very proud of his children. In September 2021, he and Kathy welcomed their first grandchild Westly, who won his heart and instantly put a smile on his face whenever he saw him.

Later in life, he made his dream come true when he purchased his first Corvette, a 40th-anniversary addition in ruby red. Anyone who knew Rodney knew he was not fond of red, so he traded the red Corvette for a jet blue one, finally having one in his favorite color.

He will be deeply missed by his wife of almost 48 years, Kathy; his daughter Lindsay Friesz (Jody Fandrich); son Ross Friesz and daughter-in-law Chelsie; grandson Westly; brother Dennis Friesz (Keana Schuler); sister-in-law Mary Erhardt; brother-in-law Kevin Donovan, and several aunts and uncles and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Pete and Anna, sister Deb McFerran, nephew Westly Lipp, and father and mother-in-law, Mike and Eva Erhardt.