Gordon J. Eichele

Gordon J. Eichele, 91, of Robinson, ND passed away on Monday, May 26, 2025, at SMP Health Ave Maria in Jamestown, ND.  Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 AM, Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at the Bowdon Country Seventh-Day Adventist Church in rural Bowdon, ND with Pastor Nathan Skaife officiating.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Gordon was born on June 25, 1933, in rural Sykeston, North Dakota to Henry and Verna (Lange) Eichele.  He grew up on the family farm east of Robinson, ND, with his parents and siblings, learning the value of hard work.  He graduated from Sheyenne River Academy in 1951 and worked construction and as a hired man for area farmers.

He met his future bride of 70 years, Geraldine Randall, just a few miles away from his family home, meeting through 4-H.  They were married August 29, 1954, at the Congregational Church in Lake Williams, ND.  Gordon entered the Army in 1954.  He served in Operation Whitecoat during the Korean War era, while being stationed with Gerry at Washington, DC, San Antonio and Denver.

Upon his Honorable Discharge from the Army, Gordon & Gerry returned to Kidder County, and in 1959 purchased a farmstead, where they spent the next 65 years building a family and a successful farming and cattle operation. Gordon and Gerry worked side by side throughout their entire marriage to not only survive the hardships of starting a farm from nothing, but went on to thrive. They worked making continual improvements to their family home and farm. When talking about those early farming days, he would be sure to tell you, “I started farming back when a guy really could go broke!”

Gordon took particular enjoyment in keeping alive the “old ways” and spent many years training horses, to drive for pleasure or for work as they did in the days of his youth.  Gordon and his teams were frequent participants in parades, threshing bees, and the Fort Seward Wagon Train, where he was voted to be Head Teamster.  In later years, he organized his own threshing bee, complete with a straw hat toss into the threshers, followed by a potluck picnic at the end.

Gordon also spent many years in service to his community.  He served on many boards, including school, church, township, Co-Op, BEK Telephone and Farm Credit Services boards.  He was a founding member of the Pettibone Saddle Club.  He was always eager to learn more, understand operations and of course, provide an opinion. He was strong in his faith and was an active member of the Robinson, Bowdon Country and New Home Seventh Day Adventist Churches throughout his life.

His friendly nature combined with a great sense of humor, made him an easy one to strike up a conversation with.  He was a regular with the local coffee crews, and could usually be counted on to teasingly poke some fun at someone, with a twinkle in his eyes.

Gordon is survived by his wife, Geraldine; his children: Lonnie (Brenda) Harvey, ND; Randy (Donna) Robinson, ND; Lorie (Jeff) Kosir, Fargo; Lynn (Tony) Flieth, Wahpeton; as well as his grandchildren, Jodi Wiersch, Jaclyn Nelson, Colton Eichele, Megan Domine, Gavin and Levi Flieth; and 2 great-grandchildren, Wyatt and Luka. He is also survived by his siblings Karen Neset, Janice Guthmiller and Lanerd Eichele.

He was preceded in death by his parents, siblings Donald Eichele and Evangeline Schrenk.

Burial will take place at 3:00 PM at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan, ND. Memorials may be sent to the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery: 1825 46th St. Mandan, ND 58554.