John Mathern

John Mathern

John Mathern, 91, Edgeley, ND passed away peacefully on October 20, 2008 at Manor St. Joseph, Edgeley, ND.

John was born April 15, 1917, the first son of Ignatius "Ignatz" and Katharina (Wald) Mathern at their farm near Napoleon, ND. Both of his parents were of German ancestry who immigrated to the U.S. from Russia (now Ukraine) in 1905. His boyhood was spent growing up on a family farm northeast of Strasburg, ND. During the Depression era of the 1930s, he found work on dairy farms near Bismarck, as a cook at the Powers Hotel in Fargo and as a farm hand near Grand Forks, ND.

He married Julianna "Julia" Schatz at Zeeland, ND on October 5, 1937 and they worked at Grand Forks from 1938 to 1939. They moved to a farm 2 miles south of Edgeley in the spring of 1940 with their first son. They worked and raised 7 sons on this farm and schooled them in Edgeley.

John served in the elected position of LaMoure County commissioner for 24 years between 1964 and 1989. He began retiring from farming in 1980 and purchased a bar in Berlin, ND which he and Julia operated until they sold it in 1983 to construct a new building for Big John's Bar, with a dance hall at Edgeley's industrial park at the intersection of highways 13, and 281. IN 1990 he built a new Big John's Bar and Grill, with a restaurant and banquet/dance hall, and sold the original facility to the Farmers Union Oil Co. John and his wife operated the new Big John's until they retired in 1999 at the ages of 82 and 83. In the spring of 2005, John and Julia moved into the Manor St. Joseph.

John was a devoted member of Transfiguration Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He was preceded in death by his parents, 2 younger brothers and his wife, Julia, who died in April, 2006. He is survived by 7 sons, Vernon, Mesa, AZ, Richard (Lona), Edgeley, Gerald (Nancy), Hilo, HI, Ken (Diane), Longmont, CO, Alan (Mindi), Towner, ND, Randy, Bismarck, ND, and Steve, Indian Hills, CO; 2 sisters, Betty Feist, LaMoure, ND and Helen Brannan, Edgeley, ND and 1 brother, Joe, Edgeley, ND; 16 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren.

Funeral Service: 10:30 a.m. Friday, October 24, 2008 at Transfiguration Catholic Church, Edgeley, ND.

Prayer Service: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, October 23, 2008 at Transfiguration Church.

Visitation: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Thursday at Lisko Funeral Chapel, Edgeley and 1 hour prior to services at the church on Friday.

Interment: Mount Calvary Cemetery, Edgeley, ND.