Gary D. Nord

Gary D. Nord, 80, of Cavalier, ND, passed away Friday, September 8, 2023, at the Pembina County Memorial Hospital, Cavalier, ND. Funeral service will be held Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Cavalier. Visitation will be held for one hour before the time of the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to Faith In Action.

Gary was born January 24^th, 1943, in Devils Lake ND to Oscar Nord & Dorothy (Weiss) Nord.  He graduated from high school at Churchs Ferry, ND in 1960 and attended two years at North Dakota State University before enlisting in the US Navy on October 18^th, 1963.  Gary served four years as an aviation electronics technician at U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point, located at the edge of Naval Base Subic Bay in Bataan, Philippines.  He was honorably discharged from the Navy on October 17^th, 1967.

Gary met Maria Toews during the summer of 1969 at Bible Camp on Lake St Martin, Manitoba, and they were married July 11^th, 1970.  They recently celebrated their 53^rd wedding anniversary.  They were blessed with three daughters, Maureen, Teresa, and Kristina.

Gary and Maria started their married life in North Platte, Nebraska, where Gary worked for the Union Pacific Railroad as an electrician.  He continued his railroad career in Seattle, Washington, as a brakeman and later as an engineer.  They returned to North Dakota in 1979 where he worked on the Northern Pacific Railroad for two years.  In 1981 Gary returned to life as a college student, and in November 1984 earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Minot State University with a major in Computer Programming and a minor degree in Mathematics.  In February 1985 Gary accepted a position as Computer Programmer Analyst and became a civilian employee of the US Army at Tooele Army Depot, Tooele UT.  He retired from Tooele Army Depot in May 2008 after faithfully serving the US Government for 27 years, including his time in the Navy.  They stayed in Tooele for several years after retirement, then moved to Cavalier ND in 2016 to be closer to their brothers and sisters.

Gary loved music, especially Bluegrass and church Hymns.  He could often be found with a guitar, banjo, or mandolin in hand, picking, strumming, humming, and singing along with the radio or his treasured collection of vinyl records and cassette tapes.  He was a voracious reader of anything he could get his hands on:  books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and especially his Bible.  He attended Bible studies faithfully, always eager to learn more about God, Jesus, and his own faith.  He liked to putter in the garden, tinkered at building birdhouses, and collected model trains, especially electric ones.  He was passionate about supporting underprivileged children through ministries all over the world, including several close to home.  Gary enjoyed traveling to visit his children and grandchildren.

Gary is preceded in death by his parents, Oscar and Dorothy Nord, his Father- and Mother-in-Law Jacob and Aganetha Toews, and his precious daughter Teresa (Nord) Slaughter.  He is survived by his beloved wife, Maria, their children Maureen (Garret) Karels and Kristina (Marshall) Keeling, son-in-law Jason Slaughter, his siblings Mark (Judy) Nord, Patricia (Dan) Vickerman, Nancy (Larry) Arendt, Allan (Cathy) Nord, grandchildren Cecelia, Emily, Beau, Van, Gavin, Vivian, Chloe, Meredith, Carson, and great granddaughter Lainey.