Obituary: Donavon Czech

Donavon Czech

Donavon Czech, 78, of Bowdon, N.D., died Wednesday, January 4, 2023, at the Sanford Hospital in Bismarck.

Visitation was on Monday, January 9, 2023, from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. at the Hertz Funeral Home of Harvey.

Services were held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the United Methodist Church, Chaseley.

Donavon was born on December 9, 1944. He was the son of Walter and Helen (Neuharth) Czech and grew up on the family farm north of Chaseley. He attended the Chaseley Public School through the 10th grade and transferred to Bowdon High School.

Donavon graduated from high school in 1962 and attended State School of Science in Wahpeton earning a technical degree in Diesel Mechanics.

Following college, Donavon and a friend moved to southern California. He worked there until Uncle Sam called him to show up back in North Dakota. Due to a medical condition, he was unable to complete the draft. He then moved to the Minneapolis area and began working for Consolidated Freightways.

During this time, he married Gayle Peterson and welcomed her children Darran and Jessica as his own. Due to his father's illness, Donavon moved back to the family farm to take over the farming operation in 1982.

On July 16, 1989, he and Connie (Knecht) Mindt were married in Goodrich, N.D., and Connie's son Kenton completed the household. They farmed and raised cattle until 2008 when Donavon decided to semi-retire and spend the winters in Arizona for 10 years.

When back in North Dakota for the remaining seasons, he began working for Weckerly Farms and Freight Solutions of Hurdsfield.

Donavon enjoyed spending as much time as possible at their cabin at Lake Metigoshe. Connie and Donavon enjoyed sharing their cabin with family and friends who would come to visit. The summers were filled with playing cards and dominoes, boating, skiing, grilling and entertaining. They loved having their grandkids Cooper and Brooklyn up there with them.

Donavon was a member of the Chaseley United Methodist Church. He had served on the Chaseley Township Board, Chaseley Cemetery Board and had been an active member of the Hurdsfield Lions Club.

Donavon is survived by his wife, Connie; son, Darran (Trish); daughter, Jessica; and stepson, Kenton (Janet) Mindt; and grandchildren, Brittany Slomiski, Cooper and Brooklyn Mindt.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen and father Walter Czech.

Arrangements with Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey, N.D.

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