Denise Ponder, age 56 of Elgin, ND passed away suddenly on Friday, December 27, 2019 at her home in Elgin.

The Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 am MT on Thursday, January 2, 2020 at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Elgin with Pastor John Amundson officiating.  Burial will follow at the Prairie View Cemetery in Heil, ND.   Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Thursday.

Denise Alice Vaught was born on February 25, 1963 in Portland, OR to Robert and Shirley (Rector) Vaught.  The family moved to Lafayette, OR a few years later which is where she and her two older sisters grew up.  She attended a five room grade school and then attended junior and senior high school in McMinnville, OR.  Denise later moved to Washington State and attended and graduated from beauty school.

In the early months of 2000 she moved to Elgin, ND.  She worked many years at the Elgin Vet Clinic and in most recent years at Pugglie's Boarding Kennel.  She loved animals and was known to bring home a few, or sometimes a lot, of strays and homeless dogs and cats. Denise will be laid to rest with her mother's ashes and four trusted companions, Thor, Athena, Vigi, and Hercules.

Denise is survived by two sons Troy, Arizona; granddaughter Aspen, and son DeLaus, Elgin, ND; sisters Shirlene (Dan Reece) Schaffner, New Leipzig, ND; Gelene (Rick) Hutchens, Newberg, OR; fiancé Wayne Nagel, Elgin, ND; step-mother Paula Vaught, Arizona and her children Destiny and Jace; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her grandparents, and great-nephew Cole.