Norman Seidel

Norman Seidel, 84, of Riverdale, died unexpectedly at his home on June 6, 2018. A funeral service will be held at 10:30 am, Saturday, June 9, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck. Visitation will be held from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Friday, June 8, at Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck. Interment will be held at Mandan Union Cemetery, Mandan, ND. Norman was the second of six children born to Carl and Antonia (Oster) Seidel near Dodge, ND, before moving to the Strasburg/Linton area. At the age of 15, Norman spent the winter on a ranch near Bismarck tending cattle, where he was sometimes snowed in for days at a time. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1951 and served his country in Korea in the Baker Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division. During his time in the Marine Corps and while he was stationed in California, Norman was able to shake the hands of a few famous men including John Wayne and Elvis Presley. He enjoyed telling the story of the time he and his sisters went to a dance hall where Lawrence Welk and his orchestra were playing. When the doorman informed Norman that he did not meet the dress code requirements for the establishment, Norman told him that he was from the same hometown in ND (Strasburg) as Welk. Lawrence heard the commotion and vouched for Norman, thus giving him and his sisters entrance for the evening. At the end of his tour of duty, he worked in a sawmill in California while attending night school, and eventually made his way back to Bismarck, North Dakota where he held several different jobs. Norman met his future wife, Mary Jane Kraft, on a blind date. They enjoyed many waltzes together and were always the most graceful couple on the dance floor. On September 18, 1961, he married Mary Jane and they made their home in Bismarck for the first few years. From this union, four daughters were born: Brenda, Audrey, Karen and Wendy. Even though he was “feared” by his daughters during their younger years because of his quick temper, loud voice, and strict rules, he was always their biggest supporter. He was very proud of his girls and grandchildren and their achievements. His daughters frequently wondered who this person was who was so very different from the man they remember growing up with. He worked for the Bureau of Reclamation conducting survey work up and down the Missouri River, and on Halloween 1965 the family moved to Riverdale. He started work with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Garrison Power Plant and retired after 38 years of Federal service. Many nights he and Mary Jane worked on correspondence courses in mathematics in order for him to be eligible to become a control room operator. Except for a short time in 1976 when the family moved to Washington state where Norman worked at Chief Joseph Dam, Norman and Mary Jane made their home in Riverdale. Norman and Mary Jane owned and operated Riverdale Upholstery and Sporting Goods for a number of years where he became known for his excellent upholstery work. For a couple of summers, he sold fireworks and had a great show at the house with all the neighborhood kids stopping by to watch. He also tried his hand at beekeeping in the late 70s and early 80s until his wife developed an allergy to bee stings. His initial purchase of bees arrived via the US Postal service. Imagine the surprise of the postmaster upon seeing that package show up! Having never graduated from high school, Norman was constantly reading, learning and self-teaching his many skills including upholstery, gunsmithing, and woodworking in addition to being an excellent mechanic. During the 1970s, he built the first of three black powder rifles, and within the last 10 years a black powder pistol. His skills were acclaimed in the February 2017 issue of “The Single Shot Exchange” by a fellow gun enthusiast, Colin Weisz. He and Mary Jane remodeled their home, and cut down trees and dug up stumps in order for him to build his shop where he spent many hours on his hobbies, the most recent of which was his desire to build a 12 pound cannon. Sadly, this is one project he will not be able to complete on his own. At 84, Norman still dreamed of “hitting the big time” in the lottery and enjoyed keeping busy and staying in touch with his children through Facebook and email. Those messages will be missed, bad punctuation and all. He was a man of few words but countless actions. He loved his family fiercely. He is survived by his four daughters, Brenda Seidel, St Louis, MO, Audrey (Kevin) Kroll, Bismarck, Karen (Mark) Dorsey, Sylacauga AL, and Wendy (Jeremy) Denning, Amarillo, TX; eight grandchildren, Jamie Rodriguez, Lucas, Samuel and William Kroll, Hunter Dorsey, and Taegn, Ravyn and Seidel (Sei) Denning; “honorary daughter #5“ Gwen Kreft (Ron Frei); three sisters, Loretta (Harry) Reaman and Jean Swanson, Braddock, and Carol Holsti, Mandan; and many nieces and nephews. Norman was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Mary Jane; his brothers, Milton (Fritz) and Edwin Seidel; and his parents.