A prayer service for Harold Fick, 91, Oakes, North Dakota, formerly of Litchville, will be held Thursday, January 30, 2020, at 7:00 pm at the Lerud-Mathias Funeral Home, Valley City, ND. Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 pm. Burial will be in Memorial Gardens, rural Valley City, in the spring.
Harold was born March 31, 1928, in Litchville, North Dakota, the son of Reinhold and Louise (Alber) Fick. He was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church, Litchville. He attended Litchville Public School and as most young men did during that time in history, quit school after 8th grade to help provide for his family.
He enlisted in the army on November 21, 1946 and was honorably discharged on May 3, 1948. He was stationed at the US Constabulary School in Sonthofen, Germany, an elite Military Police Unit formed at the end of WWII to maintain order and crack down on criminal elements that thrived in the ruins of the Third Reich. He was assigned to the Calvary Unit, riding horse where no vehicle could enter, flushing out the last of the German soldiers.
Returning to the States, he worked building the Garrison Dam, and briefly the Jamestown Dam. He bought his first semi-truck and trailer in 1951 hauling gravel, beginning a 50+ year career of driving semi-trucks. He went to work at the Woodworth Elevator in Litchville. He married Leone Person in Fort Ransom on December 18, 1951.
Harold and Leone moved to Anamoose where he was a grain elevator manager and was also a manager at the Hagman Elevator near Arthur. He moved back Litchville to drive the Standard Oil Delivery Truck until he went into partnership with J & H Feed and Veterinary Service in Enderlin. He was the feed salesman for the Land O’Lakes Division. In 1972, he bought out J & H’s seed division and started his own Feed, Seed, Fertilizer and Spraying Service in Litchville. He sold the business to Cenex and started his family owned and operated dependable over-the-road trucking service, renaming his business to Fick and Sons, Inc.
Harold and his sons, Jerome and Dennis, drove semi-truck and trailers all over the United States and into Canada. Their most successful and dedicated runs were from Duluth to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, WA. Health and macular degeneration forced him from driving the big rig and he retired in 2001. Eventually, Dennis bought out the company from his parents to become sole owner.
Harold was one of the founding members of the Fort Seward Wagon Train held annually in Jamestown for the last 50 years. Harold stepped down as Board Member when his health didn’t allow him to go on his beloved wagon train trips any longer. He was an avid horseman all his life, winning many ribbons and trophies at horse shows and competitions, including draft horse pulls at the North Dakota Winter Show every spring.
Harold was one of the founding members of the former Community Lanes Bowling Alley in Litchville. He was also a Boy Scout Leader taking many boys to Little Yellowstone for camping and horseback riding. He shared his love of horses to everyone he met, and his sons and grandchildren also shared his passion.
Harold passed away at the Good Samaritan Center in Oakes, ND on January 25, 2020. He is preceded in death by his parents, Reinhold and Louise (Alber) Fick, his siblings, Awald Fick, Arnold Fick, Marie Seaver, Elizabeth Stamness, Harvey Fick, Pearl Johnson, Hazel Cornforth and Duane Fick. He leaves his wife of 68 years, Leone Fick, Oakes; sons Jerome (Mary Lou) and Dennis (Liz), Litchville. Grandchildren, Daryl (Nicole), Sanborn; Travis (Tracy) Hendrum, MN; Denise (Chris) Erlandson, Oakes, Abbey (Justin) Quandt, Oakes, and Cassandra (Mike) Werlinger, Linton. Great-grandchildren are Sammi, Nathan and Courtnie Fick, and Jackson and Brooke Erlandson, and Rowan Quandt.
The family requests memorials to be given to the Fort Seward Wagon Train, the NDWS Horse Pull, or to your favorite charity.
Lerud-Mathias Funeral Home is assisting Harold’s family with arrangements. An online guestbook and tribute page can be found at www.lerudschuldt.com