Gordon was born in
Medford
Township
in
Steele County
,
MN
on April 16, 1923 to Marvin and Margaret (Allis) Krosch. He was the first of their seven children. When Gordon was still a young child, he and his family moved to a ranch near
Glendive
,
Montana
, where they lived until he was about 16 years old. After the family moved back to Minnesota, Gordon divided his time between Montana, Minnesota, and western North Dakota, where he worked for his relatives for a time on a ranch near Hazen.
On December 29, 1944 Gordon entered the Navy (interesting way to start a new year!). He saw quite a bit of action in the South Pacific before the war ended. The
island
of
Truk
in the Caroline Islands and Palawon in the
Philippines
were a couple of the places that held a lot of memories for him. He made it to
Japan
after the war for a very short time; he actually took a (unofficial and highly illegal) day trip into
Hiroshima
! He always joked that he made it halfway around the world, since they turned him back around and sent his ship back to the
US
the same way they came. He received an Honorable Discharge from the Navy on July 3, 1946, which of course gave an extra special meaning to "Independence Day" for him!
Gordon bought some land and machinery and began to farm in 1947. He was married to Marian Schuster on June 18, 1949, and they had 54 years together on their farm south of
Alberta
, until cancer took Marian in 2003. The farm was more than a job to Gordon, working his land was something he always treasured. He was always sure to get the work done in time to go deer hunting, though! He once said he had hunted deer for over 40 years without ever getting "skunked", and many years he got several, some years hunting in Minnesota, Montana, and Wyoming! He has quite an impressive collection of deer horns!
Gordon passed away on Friday February 19, 2010 at
Merit
Care
Hospital
in
Fargo, North Dakota
, having reached the age of 86.
He is survived by three daughters: Susan (Steve) Kulberg of Morris, Carol (Doug) Backman of Alberta, and Donna Krosch of Fresno County, CA; one son: Jim (Jackie) of Alberta; 12 Grandchildren: Kathi (Walter) Biesterfeld of Donnelly, Shelly (Kurt) Becker of Watertown, Kelly (Melissa) Backman of Fergus Falls, Randy (Melissa) Backman of Houston, TX, Lori Backman (fiance Craig) of Albany, Loni Reneau of Paso Robles, CA, Karen Reneau of Fresno, CA, Linda Reneau of Clovis, CA, Jeremy Reneau of Fresno County, CA, Bradley Krosch of Morris, Amanda Krosch of Anchorage, AK and Cody Krosch of Alberta; 12 Great-grandchildren; three brothers: Marshall (
Georgia
) Krosch of
Missoula
,
MT
, Duane Krosch of Alberta, and Craig (Joan) Krosch of Sweet, ID and three sisters: Norma (Larry) Olson of
Heyburn
,
ID
, Lenora (Vern) Behrens of Wheaton and Sandra (Harold) Nordstrom of Huron, SD.
Gordon was preceded in dead by his wife Marian, daughter Rita, and parents Marvin and Margaret.
Pallbearers for the service are: Bradley Krosch, Amanda Krosch, Cody Krosch, Walter Biesterfield, Haley Hemore and Dennis Henriksen. Becky Draper will serve as organist for the service. Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in charge of the arrangements.
