Roger Dean Riveland

Roger Dean Riveland, 83, passed away on June 5, 2020 at St. Alexius, Bismarck.  A public visitation will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E Divide Ave, with burial to follow at Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck.

Roger was born on January 28, 1937 to Oliver Riveland and Selma Huseby.  He grew up in rural North Dakota near Crosby. He was the sixth of eight children.  Roger quit school after eigth grade to help run the family farm after his father passed.  He later received his GED and went on to complete his undergraduate degree at Minot in June of 1967 and his master’s degree at NDSU in Fargo in August of 1968.  He also completed post graduate work in Greeley, CO. He taught mathematics at Rock Springs, WY; Minot, ND; and Bismarck State College in Bismarck, ND, teaching there for most of his career, staying for 24 years until his retirement.

As a young man, Roger enjoyed hunting and trapping with his two older brothers.  He was also active in the target shooting scene.

Roger is a veteran who served in the army from 1963 to 1967.  While enrolled, he was a medic and was also on the rifle team where he collected many medals in shooting competitions.

He was married to Barbara (Bobbi) Gitter from 1968-1975.  Together they had two boys, Troy Riveland and Deryk Riveland.

Roger then met the love of his life, LorRaine Karen Harstad and the two married on November 30, 1980. LorRaine and Roger were happily married for nearly 40 years before Roger’s passing.  Roger loved her dearly but delighted in teasing his wife and playing practical jokes on her, making sure to take full advantage of April Fool’s Day every year.

He was active in his church, Lutheran Church of the Cross.  He served on the church council several years and helping out during services, being an usher, singing, volunteering, and delivering meals on meals.

Roger was an athlete and true sportsman throughout his entire life.  He enjoyed playing ping pong and billiards. He was a member of the curling club in Bismarck, helping to get the rink on Washington Street built. He played racquetball frequently when he was younger.  He played in a softball league for many years, playing as pitcher and catcher.  He bowled in leagues and tournaments for many years having won the state senior championship in 1984 and competed in the national championship in 1985. While he always enjoyed bowling, he only liked to start after the season had ended on his other true love, golfing.  He was an avid golfer for nearly his whole life, preferring to walk, rather than riding in a cart, even when he reached his 80’s.  His wife LorRaine often joked that she was a golfing widow. He played in many golfing tournaments and won the state sand green championship many times.

Roger, having grown up on the farm, was a lifelong tinkerer.  He was far more likely to spend hours fabricating a piece to fix something than he was to go buy something new.  He was also an avid woodworker, building furniture, shelves, ornaments, inlaying wood and doing scrollwork.

He also loved music his whole life.  He was a self-taught guitar player and a singer.  He loved to play with other musicians.  For years he was part of the group “Gospel Sounds” who would play weekly at different nursing homes in the area.  Even when he did not have a guitar in his hand, music flowed from him, he was almost always singing, humming or whistling.

Roger was an avid gardener and spent countless hours in his vegetable garden, flower gardens, and yard.  He often participated in a friendly competition with a fellow gardener to see who would have the largest tomato or who would have the last tomato of the year. He was a fierce foe to both dandelions and rabbits who threatened his yard or gardens.

He is survived by his wife, LorRaine Riveland; his sons, Troy Riveland, Bismarck, and Deryk Riveland, Golden, CO, and daughter-in-law Kristy Riveland; his grandchildren, Kyra and Fynnegan Riveland; brothers, Allan Riveland and Curtis Riveland.

Roger was preceded in death by his parents; his siblings, Ray Riveland, Mearl Riveland, Anita Willett, Marge Greenke, and Shirley Bakke.