Darwin Ecklund

Darwin Clark Ecklund, 90, died Monday, July 4, 2011 in Eventide Nursing Home, Moorhead, Minnesota. Darwin was born at home on the family farm in Reed Township in North Dakota on May 9, 1921 to Henning Ecklund and Belle (Morris) Ecklund. The house was built in 1904 on land purchased by Darwin’s grandparents in 1889 and was also the birthplace of his father, Henning. The Ecklund Farm was owned and operated by three generations of Ecklunds for a span of ninety-nine years. Darwin was baptized and confirmed in the Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church, Harwood, North Dakota. He attended school in Reed Township District 15 and Oak Grove High School, graduating from the Agricultural and Manual Arts High School at North Dakota Agricultural College. On September, 2, 1960, Darwin married Dorothy Hope Granger. Darwin and Dorothy lived in the Ecklund family home located on the Sheyenne River south of Harwood and operated and expanded the farm until they retired in 1988. Darwin served on the Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church Council, the board of the Harwood Elevator and the West Fargo School Board. Darwin is survived by his two stepdaughters, Tracey (Richard) Moorhead, Fargo, and MaryAnn (Gary) Pfeifer, Centennial, Colorado; two sisters, Ruth Ford, Austin Texas, and Jean Oberg, Moorhead, Minnesota; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, his sister, Joyce Jacobson and his stepdaughter, Dorothy Ellen (Penny) Regan. Visitation: Thursday, July 7, 2011, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Hanson Runsvold Funeral Home. Funeral Service and Burial: Friday, July 8, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at Maple Sheyenne Lutheran Church and Cemetery, Harwood, North Dakota. Memorials: Please direct to charity of donor’s choice.