Ross Bestgen

Ross Bestgen, 86, died June 15, 2017, at Sunset Drive-A Prospera Community, Mandan, ND.Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am Wednesday, June 21, at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E. Divide Ave., Bismarck.Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at Eastgate Funeral Service.Graveside services will be held at 12:00 Noon Wednesday at the ND Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.Ross John Bestgen was born November 7, 1930, in Pipestone, MN, the only child born to Emil and Lydia (Remjeske) Bestgen. When Ross was five years of age, the family moved from Pipestone to Carrington, ND, where his father worked as a jeweler. Ross attended school in Carrington and graduated from Carrington High School in the spring of 1950. Ross was inducted into the Army on June 13, 1951, serving for two years, receiving an honorable discharge on June 12, 1953.Ross entered the University of North Dakota in the fall of 1953 and graduated three years later with a Bachelor of Science degree in business. Following his college graduation, Ross received a job with the Social Security Administration in Grand Forks where he worked for ten years. He then transferred to the U.S. Labor Department where he worked for approximately three years. He then began a 17 year stint with the U.S. Agriculture Department. Ross retired at age 55 after 30 years as a U.S. Government employee primarily because of health problems.Ross owned and maintained a home in Bismarck which he sold in 2012 when he moved to the Touchmark Living Center in Bismarck.