Alan Trauger

Alan (Alfie) Noah Trauger, 73, Bismarck, passed away peacefully on December 23rd, 2024 after a long and courageous battle with kidney disease, surrounded by his family. 

Alan's service will be livestreamed on Trinity Lutheran Church's Website.

The funeral service will be held at 10:00 AM, Monday, December 30th, 2024 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 502 North 4th street, Bismarck, ND, with Pastor Martha HarriSon officiating. 

Visitation will be held from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM with a prayer service starting at 3:00 PM, Sunday, December 29th at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. 

Interment will be held at 1:00 PM, Monday, December 30th, the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Alan was born on February, 23rd 1951 in Bismarck to Calvin and Verna (Iverson) Trauger. He grew up in Mandan until the age of nine and then his family relocated to Elgin where his father opened the summer resort on Lake Tschida. Alan graduated from Elgin High School in the class of ‘69. 

He joined the Navy in 1970 and served aboard the USS Okinawa LPH-3 as an Operations Specialist. He was a proud Vietnam Veteran where he served two tours. The highlight of his tour in the Navy was in the summer of 1971 when the Okinawa was the recovery ship for Apollo 15 when it returned from the moon. This experience was one of his proudest moments that he shared with family, friends and everyone he came into contact with. Alan was honored to be selected to go to Washington DC to participate in the North Dakota Honor flight.

Alan met the love of his life, Connie Merkel in 1972 when he was home on leave. Their love blossomed through hundreds of letters while he was at sea. They were married in June of 1973 and soon after began their adventure in California. This is where he met many shipmates who became lifelong friends after Alan was honorably discharged in 1974. 

Alan and Connie then moved to Wahpeton where he earned his degree in architectural drafting and estimating technology from North Dakota State School of science. In 1975, Alan and Connie began their family with the birth of their daughter Kristi; followed by their son, Nathan. He began his professional career in construction with Harley Miller and ended his career with ICI when he retired in 2008 after many years with the company.

His biggest love was for his family. He was a dedicated and loving husband; father; brother; uncle and his favorite role of being a Papa: whether it was playing games; going to movies or taking trips to Disney, he was the center of everlasting memories. Anyone who knew Alan knows his second love was the Minnesota Vikings. He stood by them through the good the bad and the ugly. SKOL! Another thing near and dear to his heart was his Harley trike. This started his passion for riding and led him to become a member of the CVMA where he was given the road name Alf.

Alan was affectionately known as Trauger, Al, Alfie, Uncle Alfie and Papa. His sense of humor was contagious and his true love for others carried through until the very end. Greeting all of his visitors with the words “I love you.” He also expressed this love with the doctors, nurses, and CNA’s that took care of him in his final days.

Alan is lovingly remembered by his wife, Connie; daughter, Kristi; son, Nathan (Terri); grandchildren, Sydney (Braydon), Noah, Ryan, Seyani (Brody); Jelani (Haley), Deshani; great-grandsons Crue and Miles; stepmother Judy, brother Gary (Gloria); sister, Brenda (Ron); sisters-in-law, Brenda (Greg), Verna; brothers-in-law, Keith (Jennifer), Lee, Kevin (Karla); nieces, Melodi (Shaun), Megan (Jerry) , Myranda (Brandon), Macy (Zach), Marissa; nephews, Eric (Jenny), Aaron (Heidi) Calvin, Derick, Pat, Shawn (Mallory); Tim, Matt (Pam), Shawn; great-nieces Emma, Brooke; great-nephews, Austyn, Ayden, Blake, Kaiden, Charlie, Hendrix, Grayson and Jameson and many very special friends, shipmates, and coworkers.

Alan was preceded in death by his parents, Calvin and Verna; paternal grandparents, Noah (Sam) and Luetta; maternal grandparents, Lafe and Inez; mother and father-in-law Alvin and Shirley; sister, Donella, brother-in-law Miles; sister-in-law Patty; brother-in-law Rick; daughter-in-law Lindsay; many aunts, uncles , cousins very special friends, Ron Otto and Steve Bulat.

The family would like to give a very heartfelt thank you to Sanford dialysis for their care over the last 10 years, the VA doctors and nurses and doctors and nurses of Sanford hospital for their compassion and care they provided over the years.