Service of Remembrance for Gary Ardene Sprecher, 69, lifelong Mott, ND farmer and rancher will be Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. at the Zoar Congregational Church in Mott. Pastor Corey Warner will officiate and burial will follow at the Sunnyslope Cemetery in Mott. Visitation will be from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 2 followed by a gathering of Family and Friends at 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home that evening.


Gary Ardene Sprecher was born on April 23, 1939 to Adolph and Ida (Oberlander) Sprecher. He was raised in Mott, where he completed high school and later attended North Dakota State University. While in college, Gary was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and established friendships that still remain today. Gary married Meridean Hummel on July 10, 1960. Shortly after, they established a home and farm south of Mott, where he began farming and designing confinement hog barns. For seventeen years, he was actively involved in raising, buying, and selling hogs and feeder pigs. Sprecher Premium Pork evolved and flourished. In recognition of his accomplishments, Gary received the Pork All American Award in 1973 and Outstanding Young Farmer Award in 1974. He was a pioneer in many aspects of farming and was always open to new innovative techniques including no-till farming. In today's challenging times of the farmer, Gary practiced diversification. His typical crops included wheat, sunflowers, corn, canola, and garbanzo beans (chick peas). He also raised beef cattle and performed long distance trucking for years with his fleet of semis.


Gary was a devoted individual who loved God, his family, his country, and his fellow man. He loved to laugh and share stories. His spontaneous and witty personality captivated an audience and he made friends everywhere he went. He was a very generous man to both his family and his community.


Gary's hobbies included spending time with family and friends, involvement in his church, fishing, golfing, racing, and traveling in the RV. Gary was particularly supportive of mission work actively promoting God's ways.


In the fall, Gary's attention turned to his family's Timber Creek Hunting Camp, where he interacted with returning friends from across the country eager to chase the area's pheasants and re-experience stories of the past.


Gary Sprecher passed away at the West River Regional Medical Center in Hettinger, North Dakota on June 29, 2008 after battling cancer for eleven years. He will be greatly missed by all of those to whom he played a very special part in their lives.


Grateful for having shared Gary's life are his wife, Meridean Sprecher; his mother, Ida Sprecher; his daughters, Kari (Jim Ferguson) Sprecher and Judy (Noel) Braseth; his grandchildren, Leah Braseth and Eric Braseth; his numerous brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Gary was preceded in death by his father, Adolph Sprecher.


May Gary's memory always bring a smile to your face and as Gary would say, "See you later, Pilgrim."


A Memorial will be established by his family.