Mark Nordeen

Mark Joseph Nordeen, 65, passed away peacefully at home on September 22nd, 2018. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday September 27th at Corpus Christi Church, 1919 N. 2nd St. Bismarck, ND. Family will greet guests one hour prior to the service at the church. Mark was born on July 7, 1953 to Fran and Merle Nordeen in Braham, MN. There he grew up on a dairy farm with his brother Paul and sisters, Lisa and Ann. Mark enjoyed all sports which led him to earn scholarships to Valley City State University for football and baseball. Mark was an extraordinary quarterback and was invited to multiple NFL training camps, which led him to try out for the NY Giants, ultimately deciding to come home to the most important person in the world to him, his wife Kathryn. It was in college where he met the love of his life Kathryn Johnson and the two would never look back. They were married in 1973 and had Josh, their first of four children. They grew as a family, adding their daughter Jamie, and two more sons, Jeremy and Jerred. Mark was a teacher and coach and traveled the small-town circuit of eastern North Dakota, making many of these towns their home. Eventually, the family settled in Bismarck for the duration of their lives together. Mark worked hard in every line of work you could think of. He taught, coached, worked construction in the summer, sold cars, hearing aids, pharmaceuticals, and insurance, but what he worked hardest at was his family. Mark was the guy that electrified the room. He could talk to anyone at any time about anything. He was also an avid hunter and loved his dogs and loved his time on the golf course with his buddies. The love Mark gave to all was just like his stature, big. He had a lot of big adjectives, and so was his love for family, friends and most importantly his wife Kathy of forty-five years. The way he would talk about her was nothing short of special. They loved spending their summers together pontooning on the river, but most importantly they enjoyed spending time with each other. It was that love that blessed them with their children and then four grandchildren. He was the best “Papa” they could have asked for. He is survived by his wife, Kathy Nordeen; his mother, Fran Nordeen; children Josh (Shanna) Nordeen, Jamie (Beverly) Stoddard, Jeremy (Lindsy) Nordeen, and Jerred Nordeen; grandchildren, Kirby Nordeen (Josh); Khamari and Konnor (Jamie); Foster (Jeremy); brother Paul Nordeen; sisters Lisa (Christine) Nordeen, Ann (Ken) Johnson. He is also survived by his mother-in-law, Mavis Johnson; sisters and brothers-in-law, Bobbi (Gary) Siegel, Teri (Terry) Feigitsch, John (Jan) Johnson, and Jeff (Lisa) Johnson. Mark was preceded in death by his father, Merle Nordeen and his father-in-law, Willis K. Johnson.