Troy Benjamin Harter, 39, Bismarck, passed away January 3, 2016. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, Jan. 8 at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Burial will follow the funeral at Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck. Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7 at Parkway Funeral Service. Troy was born to Virgil and Gladys (Witikko) Harter on January 29, 1976 in Bismarck. Troy grew up in Bismarck and graduated from Century High School. He continued on to graduate from Bismarck State College and was recently attending University of North Dakota for Archaeology before encountering health problems. He also attended North Dakota State College of Science and often worked for his father building homes and other projects. Troy was a kind and gentle soul. He loved the outdoors including taking long hikes to explore, fueled by his passion for archaeology. He will be deeply missed. He is survived by his parents; sisters, Kari and Kimberly; brother, Steve (Janice); nieces and nephews, Tyler, Kristin, Ethan, Hailey, Jessica and Shawn. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Elmer Witikko, Macy (Witikko) Schiermeister, Bernard Harter, and Harriet Harter.