William L. Dethloff

William “Bill” Dethloff, 83, passed away on Monday, April 21, 2025, at CHI St. Alexius Hospital. A private family service will be held.

William was born on October 29, 1941, to Fred and Geraldine (Kleiter) Dethloff. He was raised and educated in Pettibone, graduating from high school in 1959. During his time at home, he helped on the family farm, which is where his love for the land, cattle and hard work ethic started.

Bill joined the Army in 1959, and spent three years in Fort Bragg, NC, assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. After being honorably discharged, he returned to Pettibone and began driving for a few local truckers before starting his own business in 1966, Dethloff Truck Line.

On August 15, 1965, he married Myrna Sommerfeld. To this union, four children were born, Julie, Scott, Lori and Marcus. In the early 1980’s Bill moved his truck line and cattle to Bismarck and continued to work for over 40 years.

Even though Bill had a heart of gold, his stern and gruff personality was often noticed when he was conducting business. He was a wheeler dealer of sorts, he loved to buy and sell cattle and anything else he could. His personality made him a great and successful salesperson. In his later years, he still enjoyed trucking and would haul hay and feed whenever he could.

Family was everything to Bill and he wanted to make sure they were always cared for. He loved to cook for them and even prepared Easter Dinner this past Sunday. He was proud that all four of his kids graduated from college. He enjoyed playing cards, having coffee with friends and watching the birds.

Grandpa was his favorite title. Katie and Elise were grandpa’s favorite girls. He was the fun grandpa, always playing, taking them for rides on the golf cart and lawn mower. Making messes with grandpa was acceptable and cleaning them up too soon was frowned upon because Bill liked the remnants of the fun they had to linger around. Bill would sneak over to their house on Fridays when they weren’t home and leave a bag of treats hanging in a tree, waiting for them when they got home. There weren’t too many Fridays he missed doing that! He made countless memories with them, even though his time with them was short.

He is survived by his daughters, Julie Dethloff and Dr. Lori (Brandon Christenson) Dethloff; daughter-in-law, Michelle Feist Dethloff; granddaughters, Katie and Elise Dethloff; former wife and friend, Myrna Dethloff; sister, Nancy (Arnie) Leno and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his sons, Scott and Marcus; parents, Fred and Geraldine and infant brother, Norman Fred.

In lieu of flowers, share a cup of coffee with a friend and tell some stories in memory of Bill.