Clair E. Tongen

Clair E. Tongen, age 87, of Cavalier, ND, died on Saturday, July 14, 2007, at the Wedgewood Manor, Cavalier, ND. Memorial service will be held Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at 10:30 a.m. at the Cavalier Presbyterian Church, Cavalier, ND. Visitation on Tuesday, July 17th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Jensen-Askew Funeral Home, Cavalier, ND. Burial in the Hillside Cemetery, Walhalla, ND.
Clair Everett Tongen was born July 21, 1919, at Hazel Run, Minnesota to Ole and Ivy (Sherman) Tongen. As a young child the family moved to a farm near Walhalla. He served in the U.S. Army in the 164th Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division from April 25, 1941, to October 20, 1945. The 164th was the first Army unit to engage in combat against the Japanese, beginning at Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands, with a final campaign in the Philippine Islands. Clair spent a total of three years and five months in the South Pacific Theatre, and received a battlefield commission to the role of 2nd Lieutenant.
On December 31, 1946, he married Joyce Einarson at Mountain, ND. He farmed in the Walhalla area until March of 1969, when he began a second career with Production Credit Association in Cavalier, retiring in 1983. Clair also served several years as a Pembina County Commissioner.
He was a member of the Cavalier Presbyterian Church and the Bartlette-Resler Post #62, Walhalla American Legion.
Clair is survived by his wife, Joyce; children, Constance (Richard) Graham, Wahpeton, ND; Joel (Loretta) Tongen, Crookston, MN; Karen (Darrell) Kemnitz and Rebecca (Lynn) Ault, all of Cavalier, ND; grandchildren, Sean and Heather Graham; Erik and Adam Tongen; Ryan and Rachel Kemnitz; Stephanie, Julie, Katelyn, and Richard Ault; great-granddaughter, Ava Kemnitz; sisters, Phyllis (Dwight) Holmes, Bradenton, FL and Lois Lee, Newburg Park, CA.
Clair was preceded in death by his parents, and brothers, Lyle, Sherwood, Vinton, and Doyle.
Clergy: Rev. Harold Tongen and Rev. John Werth.
Honorary Pallbearers: All of Clair's grandchildren.
Military Rites by the Bartlette-Resler Post #62, Walhalla American Legion.
Music: Jenny DeMell, Soloist and Cleone Whelan, Organist.