Sharon A. Burian

Sharon Ann Burian, 82, died on Sunday, September 29, 2024 at St. Alexius Hospital in Bismarck, ND due to complications from body inclusion myositis. 

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, Oct. 5, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 106 Osage Ave, Bismarck.  Visitation will begin one hour prior to the service. To view her service livestream, please use the follwoing link:  https://youtube.com/@goodshepherdlutheranchurch?si=fE18LCAKexBvIqp3 

A private interment will have taken place at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery. A memorial stone will be placed at the Pioneer Rural Cemetery, South of Taylor, ND. 

Sharon (Marcusen) Burian, daughter of Leroy (Bud) and Ethelyn (Stoxen) Marcusen was born on July 22, 1942 in Richardton, ND. She was raised on the family farm south of Taylor, ND. Except for two years at the Granville rural school, she attended school in Taylor, graduating from Taylor High School in 1960. On May 29, 1963, she graduated from Dickinson State College (then Dickinson State Teachers' College) with a BS/BA degree in English.

While in college, Sharon met Arnold Burian from Manning, ND. She married him at the Taylor Lutheran Church on May 29, 1963. During the school years of 1963-64 and 1964-65, Sharon taught Sophomore and Senior English at Dickinson High School in Dickinson. In 1965, Sharon and Arnold moved to Fargo, and for the school years 1965-66 and 1966-67, Sharon taught Senior English, German, and French at Kindred High School, Kindred, ND.

In the summer of 1967, Sharon and Arnold moved to Bismarck, where Arnold was employed with the State Tax Department. Their son Steve was born in October of 1967, and their son Sean in November 1969. When Sean was in kindergarten, Sharon started eight years of employment at Bismarck State College, working as a part-time tutor in the Learning Skills Center and a part-time adjunct professor. During those years, she also completed a master's degree in English education from Northern State College in Aberdeen, SD.

In 1984, Sharon took a job with Bismarck Public Schools as a coordinator/instructor at the Adult Learning Center. She worked there for 22 years, retiring in July of 2006. While teaching, Sharon was a member of the Bismarck Education Association, the North Dakota Education Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the North Dakota Adult Basic and Secondary Education Association.

Sharon was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for 57 years, during which time she participated in and held offices with WELCA, served on various committees, taught Sunday School for 12 years, and sang in the church choir for 30 plus years.

Sharon is survived by her husband Arnold, her son Steve, Grand Forks, and her son Sean (Jenny) Fargo, as well as by five grandchildren: Tiahna (Riley) Anderson, Tyler (Calli), McKenzie, Marissa, and Mariah Burian; and two great-grandchildren, Leighton and Logan. She is also survived by siblings Jean (Leslie) Lorentzen, Noel (Keith) Gunderson, Larry (Margaret) Marcusen, Eileen (Robert) Gjermundson, Leon (Becky) Marcusen, Joy (James) Bloom, Elroy (Chris) Marcusen, and Melodie (Larry) Watts; and a sister-in-law, Jean Marcusen.

Sharon was preceded in death by her parents, a sister and brother-in-law, Carolyn and James Lisko, brother, James Marcusen, and a sister-in-law, Loris Marcusen.