A family service will be held at 7:00pm on Friday evening at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mott. Visitation will be from 1:00 to 5:30pm on Friday, April 11, at the Evanson Jensen Funeral Home in Mott and one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.

Serving as casketbearers are Kerry Swindler , Mark, Tim, and Brian Bieber, Shawn Lince, Mark and Nathan Domyahn. All of Ron's grandchildren, and great grandson, the MB-ND Zero Tillage Farmers' Association, and all of his friends are considered Honorary Bearers.

RONALD LEE SWINDLER was born on January 4, 1942. He was the fourth of five children of John and Regina (Meyer) Swindler . Ron grew up and lived most of his days in Castle Rock Township of Hettinger County, North Dakota. He graduated from Mott Lincoln High School in 1960. During his years in high school he was involved in FFA, played football for the Mott Cardinals, and served as student manager for the 1960 Mott Cardinals basketball team that won the North Dakota State Class B championship. During high school he also had the opportunity to attend North Dakota Boys State. After graduation, Ron attended NDSU for three years where his studies focused on pre-veterinary.

On December 28, 1963 Ron was united in marriage to Janice Domjahn. They set up their home a few miles north of where Ron grew up. To this marriage arrived three beautiful daughters, Desiree', Margo, and Cameo. Ron continued to farm from this location for many years until he retired from farming in 2007. The love of his life, Janice, passed from this life on January 12, 2010. At this time Ron built a new home and moved into Mott in 2011 where he lived until his passing from this life at the Mott Good Samaritan Nursing Home on April 8, 2014.

During Ron's growing up years on the farm he grew to enjoy farrowing hogs in the big red barn. He took good care of livestock and as a result got into the cattle business during his early adult years. Outdoor activities like hunting and fishing became a big part of his life. A big blue Harley Davidson motorcycle with a side cart became a prized possession. Ron liked 50's vintage Pontiac cars and at different times had a black Pontiac and a green Pontiac. He also enjoyed after school hunting expeditions in a Willys Jeep on local section lines. During the later years of his time on the farm he also grew to enjoy hosting pheasant hunters from all over the country.

Ron was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church. He was a past member of Elks 1137 of Dickinson, ND, Pheasants Forever, Cannonball Company, and the Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers' Association. For Ron, adding a Dahlgren dealership and AMSOIL dealership brought some variety and challenge to an already busy farm. In the early 1970's he became involved in an organization called the United Plainsmen whose goal was to try to make sure coal development in the state was done with care, planning, direction, and land reclamation. He was also involved with the North Dakota Atmospheric Resource Board in keeping track of precipitation at his location. Ron obtained his flying license and did some flying for a time. Ron enjoyed travel to many mainland states, Hawaii, Alaska, Jamaica, Canada, and Poland.

In the mid-1970's Ron became uncomfortable with the farming practices he was employing on his farm. He became very interested in the concept of No-till Farming: using little or no tillage to produce crops. Ron and Jan went to a no-till conference on January 15, 1976 in Hawaii. When they returned, Ron was very excited about the possibilities of this concept. Everyone, including family, told him this would not work. Undaunted, in the spring of 1976, he obtained two Melroe Bettinson drills, attached them to a special hitch and started out. At the same time, he sought out other like-minded farmers around the state to pursue this idea of no-till farming. A few other farmers around North Dakota and Manitoba were also thinking along the same lines as he. Ron, together with these other farmers, became a founding father of the organization known as the Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers' Association. Ron was in every sense a true pioneer in no-till farming in the Northern Plains and the futuristic father of no-till in southwestern North Dakota. Due to his passion for farming, Ron decided to sell his cattle and pursue his dream of no-tilling his entire farm. In the late 70's he was one of the first farmers to purchase a grain dryer and straight combine his grain crops. Always interested in the latest technology, Ron was an innovator in using the computer for his farming operation from the technology's earliest days.

Having the joy and blessing for sharing in Ron's life are his daughters, Desiree' (Rick) Poehls, Margo (Rick) Hintz, and Cameo (Loren) Frieze. Also, his grandchildren Dylan and Brandi Poehls, Ryan (Kelsey), Reed, and Rory Hintz, and Pierson and Aiden Frieze and great grandchild, Bentley Hintz, Ron's sisters, Bonnie (Ray) Bieber, Janice Gifford,  sister-in-law Ramona (Frank Jorda) Swindler and brother-in-law Roger (Marlayne) Domyahn .

Ron will also be missed by numerous nieces and nephews. Those that have gone on before Ron are his wife Janice, his parents John and Regina Swindler , his sister Shirley, and his brother Marion.