Alex Braun

On September 12, 2017 at 6:50am, Alex Braun, our dearly loved husband, dad and grandpa, went to heaven after a long battle with cancer.Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 am Monday, September 18, at Church of St. Anne, 1321 Braman Ave., Bismarck, with Rev. Wayne Sattler officiating.Visitation will be held from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Sunday, September 17, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a rosary/vigil service will begin at 6:00 pm. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.Graveside services will be held at 2:00 pm Monday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.He was born on July 11, 1930, on a farm on the outskirts of Strasburg, ND, to Valentine and Elizabeth (Bachmeier) Braun. He entered the Navy in 1950 and spent his service on a destroyer in the Persian Gulf. After his four years of service, he came back to Bismarck where he spent a short time in commercial business school and then decided to venture out to Idaho where he worked in a lead mine. He returned to Bismarck and met the love of his life, Isabelle Gerhart, and they were married shortly after on May 28, 1957. They moved to Milwaukee, WI, where they lived in a small tenement apartment where Dad worked as a jeweler apprentice until they decided to come back to ND to be closer to family and have their first child, David. He started working at Bismarck Grocery as a manager and was relocated to Minot where they spent the next 19 years raising a family. After working for American Greeting Cards Company for a number of years, he made a career change and became a postal carrier. He retired from the post office in 1995 but still continued to work part-time jobs such as a flower delivery driver and a transport driver for Sanford Care Center. For a man that only completed the 8th grade, he was one of the smartest men we have ever known. He worked hard to provide for his family and we never went without. He always seemed to put the needs of others before his own. Dad’s world was his family and he taught his children and grandchildren by his words and actions to be kind, compassionate, hardworking and honest. He was well liked and admired by anyone who ever had the pleasure to know him. Dad loved his grandchildren more than anything and they were his ultimate pride and joy. He was always excited when they would come to visit and took immense enjoyment in watching each of them grow into their own beautiful person. Dad saw the beauty in so many things. His favorite baseball team was the Minnesota Twins and he rarely missed a game. His faith was extremely important to him and even in his final days, he was still teaching us a lesson. Dad showed us that through the Grace of God, we should not be afraid but be joyful of the life he lived and the journey that he was about to take because faith is to believe in what you cannot see and the reward is to see what you truly believe. Our husband, dad and grandpa is reaping the rewards of his unwavering faith. He was a truly Good and Decent Man. Our legacy should never be the money we had, the house we lived in, or the car we drove, but the hearts and souls of those we leave behind. Our Dad’s legacy is his love for our mom, Liz, his children, Dave (Barb), Mary Beth (Cordell) Hanson, Todd, Jim (Kristin), Joe (Allison), his grandchildren, Brad (Cassie) Braun, Alisha (Tyler) Adolf, Amy (Matt) Miller, Lexi and Logan Braun, Eric and Adam Braun, Anna and Allison Braun, his great-grandchildren, Carson, Cameron, Easton, Blakely, Dylan, Jay and Gemma, and his step-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren, Ashley, Taylor (Cassie), Hunter, Faith and Jax. He is also survived by his sisters, Alvina, Christina, Betty and Linda and brothers, Ray, Victor and Kenny. He was preceded in death by his parents; and siblings, Bernice, Seline, and Leroy.