Howard J Piehl

Howard J. Piehl, 99, Bismarck, died January 8, 2017, at CHI St. Alexius Health, Bismarck. Services will be held at 10:30 am Friday, January 13, at McCabe United Methodist Church, 1030 N 6th St., Bismarck, with Rev. Mark Ehrmantraut officiating. Visitation will be held from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Thursday, January 12, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a prayer service will begin at 6:00 pm. Burial will be held at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Howard was born June 26, 1917, at Marion, ND, the son of John and Fern Marie (Mart) Piehl. He graduated from Marion High School in 1936, where he was a star basketball player and pole vaulter. He continued to help his father farm in the Marion area and in the evenings ran a traveling roller skating business. Because of the NYO (National Youth Organization) he was able to attend college at Valley City, Fargo, and Bottineau where he was a catcher on the college baseball team. He was drafted into the US Army on February 7, 1942, at Fort Snelling, St. Paul, MN, and served in WWII. While serving with the 21st infantry 24th division in the South Pacific, Howard was engaged in numerous combat missions including, Good Enough Island, New Guinea, Leyte, and the Mindoro-Mindanao invasions in the Philippians. Although the trials of war were difficult for Howard, he was very proud to have served his country. Howard was highly decorated and he was most proud of his Bronze Star. He was honorably discharged on November 7, 1945, at Fort Lewis, Tacoma, WA. Howard married Eleanor Korn on November 9, 1946, in Marion. After the war, he was a grain farmer and milked cows for 15 years. Because of malaria that he had contracted during the war, he left farming and worked for Soil Conservation District and Federal Crop Insurance for 36 years until his retirement. He was a lifetime member of the 24th Infantry Division Taro Leaf, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Amvets, and the NARFE (Federal retirees’ organization). Howard was a great family man, taking his entire family for two weeks of every year on camping trips. After the kids were grown, he continued his traveling with Eleanor, pulling their camper to many different states, including Alaska. After retirement, Howard was always busy being the neighborhood “fix it” guy. He developed a love of carpentry, building picture frames, bird houses, furniture and his prized roll-top desk. He met often with his friends at the Donut Hole and enjoyed “setting them straight” on political issues. Howard was active in his local church and community serving on church, school and county boards and enjoyed bowling with the boys in LaMoure. His favorite sports teams were the Minnesota Twins, LA Lakers and the Minnesota Vikings. Howard was able to share many of the family’s life experiences through countless slide shows at family gatherings, which included his famous oven baked popcorn. Howard is survived by his wife of 70 years, Eleanor, Bismarck; his daughters, JoAnn Piehl, Hillsboro, OR, Linda (Chuck) Wolski, Bismarck, and Wendy (Tim) Peterson, Velva; his son, George (Peggy) Piehl, Hebron; his grandchildren, Darin (Stacy) Owens, Thomas (Stephanie) Owens, Andrea (Chris) Snortland, Nick (Kara) Wolski, London (Jay) Jerger, Terry (Ashley) Peterson, Marijo (Chris Kemp) Peterson, Sarah (Aaron) Christiansen, Alex Piehl, Matt Piehl and Cody Piehl; 16 great-grandchildren; his sister, Yvonne Holm, Romulous, MI; his sister-in-law, Patricia Piehl, Valley City; and nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Captain Joel Howard Piehl; and his brothers, Harold, Walter, Roger and Donald Piehl. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, 1825 46th St., Mandan, ND, 58554.