David A. Hellman

David A. Hellman, 62, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on January 18, 2024 after a very courageous fight with cancer. He was cremated in MN and will be brought home to Bismarck for a celebration of life on Fri, Jan 26 from 6-8 pm at Parkway Funeral Home, 2330 Tyler Prkwy and a funeral mass on Sat, Jan 27, 10 AM at Corpus Christi Church 1919 N 2^nd St with burial and luncheon to follow.

David was born to Ernest Hellman and Lenora (Kottre) Hellman on September 13, 1961 and was raised in Glen Ullin, ND; he was the oldest of four children. Family was always nearby while David was growing up and those relationships provided a lot of love and a solid foundation for his younger years. He often shared so many great memories of times spent with his siblings and cousins, needless to say there was a lot of mischief involved and David was often the instigator.

 David married Lanette Gerving in 1991 and together they made their home and life in Bismarck. David and Lanette noticed each other when he was delivering milk to the high school and Lanette worked in the cafeteria during noon hour. David would time his deliveries so he could get a glimpse of her and she anxiously awaited those deliveries hoping to get a glimpse of him.  They battled life’s ups and downs together for 40 years and knew through it all that were meant to be together, true soul mates. David and Lanette raised three children, Alexis, Alec and Anthony, as well as several dogs, and had so many good times along the way, creating memories that will forever be cherished. David never had a dog growing up so when the kids got him his first dog of his own for his birthday he was hooked and his little DeeDee (short for David’s Dog) was his beloved sidekick for many years. David worked very hard to be a good provider, father and husband and got little sleep during those early years but he never complained, his family was his number one priority.

 David took a very active role in his children’s lives and interests as they were growing up. He spent years with both his boys attending Boy Scout events and camping trips and he loved every minute of it. David cherished his daughter, Daddy’s Girl if you asked him, and in the years when David was home during the day he would take his girl out for lunch, find rummage sales so he could add to his collections, and cruise around town to explore. David’s kids always knew how much he loved them and would do anything for them. His bedroom window overlooked the driveway of their home and he spent many hours looking out that window until everyone was home safely.

 David LOVED a good bargain and would never pass one up. He had a treasure trove of ‘stuff’ that he was sure he could turn around for a profit or make good use of someday! His family has many wonderful memories of David’s antics while gathering his ‘stuff’ and the lengths he went to in order to hide his ever growing collection of ‘stuff’ from Lanette.

 David had a work ethic that drove him to go above and beyond expectations. He was very proud of the work he did through the years. First at Woeste Creamery in Glen Ullin and later at Bobcat in Bismarck where he worked for 20 years. When Bobcat closed its Bismarck plant, David worked as a Milk Tanker Driver for Dean Foods and later at Wallwork Trucks as a Parts Salesman. He met many people thru these years and made many, many friends. It was impossible not to like David, he had charisma and an infectious smile.

 David and Lanette’s life together was first centered around their kid’s activities and later when the kids had flown the coop, they started spending their free time camping. They made some amazing lifelong friends thru these years and had so many fun times around picnic tables and campfires. In 2022 David and Lanette made the decision to retire early and spend time seeing the United States in their camper. David’s goal was to see the country and also as many car shows that he could find as his love of cars was a lifelong hobby. They visited many states and saw so many interesting things during these travels, putting on over 45,000 miles! Check out his TikTok stories under ‘Camper Dave’! A favorite story you would hear from David about this time happened in Bandera, TX where he received a gift of an expensive bottle of tequila from the owner of a local liquor store who, after hearing David’s story about how he had bought a similar bottle several years ago in Mexico with a plan to save it for his son’s wedding, thought this bottle of tequila should also be shared by David and his family as well, so he gave it to him.

 David will be missed and his memory cherished by his wife Lanette, son Alec and his wife Andrea (Telthoester), son Anthony, daughter Alexis and her fiancé Elgin Calley, his siblings Darrel Hellman and wife Tamra, Dorelee Dixon and husband Steve, and DuWayne Hellman. He is also survived by a large and loving family of Gervings, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and his best friend Rick. David’s first grandchild is due to be born in April and while David tried very, very hard to be here to meet him/her, God had other plans. Baby Hellman will know how hard Grandpa Hellman tried to be here to meet him/her and will know Grandpa through the many stories we all have to share.

 David was preceded in death by his cherished mother Lenora and his father Ernie, and his in-laws Bennie and Evelyn Gerving. They are all together in heaven, likely having a beer, listening to some polka music, and swapping stories.

 David will be greatly missed and his memory and spirit will always be with us.