Phillip Leroy Stoppleworth

Phillip Leroy Stoppleworth, beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, entered eternal life Tuesday, March 29th 2022 surrounded by family at the Jamestown Regional Medical Center, Jamestown ND. He was 83.

Phillip, known to his family and friends as Jesse and Pudge, was born June 18, 1938, to Theodore and Laura (Hanson) Stoppleworth in Woodworth, ND.  He was baptized at age 12 at St. James Basilica, Jamestown, ND. He grew up on the family farm, attending country schools at Goldwin, ND and Paris Township through grade 6. He would later go on to complete his GED in 1991, the same year his youngest child, Deb, graduated high school and Kevin and Ron graduated from college.   As a young adult he worked for various farmers in the area including the Krapp, Redlin and George Ganser farms, where he developed a great love for the outdoors and nature. He was a talented musician who learned to play  guitar, organ, accordion and piano by ear and he would join with neighbors and friends to play and sing country music. Phillip married Edith Ganser, daughter of George and Rose Ganser, from Cleveland, ND on February 3, 1968 at St. Mathias Catholic Church, Windsor, ND.  They made their home in Medina where they lived during the winter and traveled with his construction crews during the summer until the kids reached an age where summer sports kept them at home.  Phillip spent more than 35 years working construction for a variety of companies including Northern Improvement, Construction Associates and Hulstrand Construction. His kids, and later grandkids, quickly learned to check his suitcase when he would return home on weekends, because without fail he would bring treat for them. Most often it was spice drops or the sugared orange slice candies. He retired in 2003 taking a variety of odd jobs to keep him busy in retirement including rural mail carrier associate, Wal-Mart and Chase Lake Visitor Center. Phillip and Edith were members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Medina for more than 50 years and he served on church council and in a variety of other capacities.

Jesse, as his grandkids knew him, cherished family above all and loved nothing more than attending all his grandkids events, from concerts and wrestling matches to basketball, baseball and football games. He would happily drive two hours to watch a ten-minute program and was disappointed when he couldn't make it to every event. He was often known to be heard asking where one of his grandkids were in a much too loud voice for the event because he didn’t want to miss a thing. Jesse was always up for an adventure, traveling to national parks, or hunting and fishing – especially ice fishing – with his kids and grandkids. And there was no fancy fish house – just a plastic pail and the ice. When he wasn’t busy outdoors, he loved to attend auction sales or visit rummage sales looking for old records or other treasures. Jesse kept meticulous diaries of every day, recording what he did and who he saw and what events occurred. He would consult those diaries often to share stories with his grandkids. He never forgot a birthday, anniversary or other important event, and loved to share stories about what happened on this day years ago.

Phillip is survived by his wife, Edith; sons, Kevin (Denise), Keith (Chris), Ron (LaVon); daughter, Deb (James) Clifton; 14 grandchildren, Ashley, Anna, Jack, Trayton, Tayden, Thomas, Taylor (Jessica) and Chelsey Stoppleworth, Michael, Corbin, Gabriel, Landin, and Dominic Clifton; great-granddaughter, Charlie Mae Stoppleworth; sisters, Dora Doll, Gloria Koenig, Juanita (Gene) Baumgartner, Bernice Lusby, Mary Mittleider, and Kathy (Jim) Wegleitner; sisters-in-law, Viona Stoppleworth, Rita Jawaski, Marietta Ganser and Rosalie Andres; brother-in-law Vernon (Betty) Ganser; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his mother and father-in-law, brothers, Milton, Dennis, and Leo; and sister, Marjorie Bredeson; brothers/sister-in-law Dick Doll, Charles Koenig, Jerry Hoffman, Dan Lusby, Daniel Mittleider, Terry Buck, Lester Andres, Ronald Ganser, Kenneth Bredeson, Stanley and Carol Mack.

Visitation – One hour before each service at the church.

Vigil Service - 7:00 p.m., Monday, April 4, 2022, at St. Mathias Catholic Church, Windsor.

Mass of Christian Burial - 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at St. Mathias Catholic Church.

Burial - St. Pauline Cemetery, Windsor, North Dakota.