Samuel Isaac Dart, Elgin, N.D., died Saturday, March 23, 2013, at his home in rural Elgin.

The Funeral Service for Sam will be held at 11:00am Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Elgin with Pastor Bob Edwards, officiating. Per Sam's wishes, his ashes will be spread on the Missouri River so he can finish that canoe trip.

Special music will be provided by Annette Roth, organist.

Serving as casketbearers are Kurt Flegel, Mark and Reid Forster, Bill Wutzke, Ron Bartz, and Aaron Levorsen. Joe Dart and the great group sitting at the ""Table of Knowledge"" are considered Honorary Bearers.

Sam was a man of many talents and lived an adventurous life, working in the medical field, in law enforcement and as a newspaper reporter. He even chased Bigfoot , publishing a story about his ""sighting"" in Argosy magazine. He canoed the Missouri River, camped in the Okefenokee Swamp in Florida and ""rang"" an anvil in Missouri.

He had a variety of careers and was proud of his many accomplishments.
Samuel was born in Van Buren, Ark., to Fred and Mary (Lacey) Dart. His mother died when he was very young, and he was raised by his father in Eufaula, Okla. They raised watermelons, picked cotton, and Sam had lots of stories about living with his father without much to their name. He remembers hunting with his brother, Joe, and roasting rabbits over an open fire.

He lived with his brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Mary Dart, in Urbana, Ill., and attended Urbana High School. He joined the U.S. Army when he was 18 years old. He attended basic training in Hawaii, was stationed in Germany for a time, and was in the Vietnam Conflict. He played the French horn in the Army band.
After he was discharged from the Army, he became a registered nurse (RN) and then a physician's assistant specializing in neurology at the Carle Clinic in Urbana, Ill. He was the Second Ward alderman on the Urbana City Council. He married Dorothy Reynolds in Urbana, Ill., and had two daughters, Terri and Tracey.

For a time, he lived in Gainsville, Fla., where he was a scuba diving instructor. He also was a newspaper reporter for the Bowman Pioneer and the Williston Herald.
He served as a police officer in LaMoure, N.D., as a deputy sheriff for Bowman County, as chief of police in Alexandria, S.D., and as a deputy sheriff in Lawrence County, Mo. He also served as an administrative law judge for the state of South Dakota in Pierre, S.D.

One of his great adventures was canoeing the Missouri River from Pierre, S.D., to Bellevue, Neb.

He married Luann Flegel in Mt. Vernon, Mo., on Aug. 16, 1986. They have been married for 26 years.

Sam retired from his position as an administrative law judge when he and Luann moved to Elgin, N.D., in 1999. They have one son, Samuel Ian Dart, who was born May 31, 2000, and is a seventh-grader at Grant County Junior High School.

He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Elgin.

He is survived by his wife, Luann, and their son, Sammy; his daughters, Terri (Tim) Wegeng, Camargo, Ill., and Tracey (David) Roberts, Corpus Christi, Texas; a brother, Joe, Urbana, Ill.; several nieces and nephews; and five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister, Beth Milligan.

Visitation will be on Tuesday from 1:00 to 7:00pm with the family being present from 5:00 to 7:00pm at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Elgin.