Funeral service for Bessie Stolzenburg, 79, of Hettinger, ND will be Wednesday December 12, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Hettinger. Rev. Judy Banwart will officiate with burial following at the Hettinger Cemetery. Visitations will be Tuesday 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger and 1 hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday afternoon.


BESSIE ANN LUSK was born March 21, 1928 and grew up in Max, Nebraska. She married Lewis Stolzenburg on January 19, 1949 in Benkelman, Nebraska. They came "home" to the family farm in Northern Perkins County, SD where she and Lewis raised Hereford Cattle. Bessie worked for the Hettinger Hospital from 1966 to 1995. In 1992 Bessie and Lew sold their farm and moved into Hettinger. Bessie entered the Hillcrest Care Center in Hettinger, with her husband.


In 1992 she became a "grandma" to Dillon Loper and fulfilled that role with all the love a grandmother could give.


One of the recent accomplishments that she was most proud of was the book she put together of the courtship letters between herself and Lew before their marriage ~ she was so grateful to Pat Grossman for making this book a reality.


Bessie passed away Saturday December 8, 2007 at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger.


She leaves to mourn her special friends, Dave and Julie Loper and a special "grandson", Dillon Loper, all of Bismarck, ND; one sister-in-law Winifred Knutson, of San Antonio, TX; two nieces, Rosemary Knutson (Armando) Gonzalez, San Antonio, TX, and Samarade Otis, of Aberdeen, SD and her two sons, Brian and Tyler; and many close friends and neighbors. Preceding Bessie in death were her husband, her parents, one brother, Roy Lusk, three sisters; Martha Forbes, Beulah Allen, & Ina Whitney.