Gerald Barnhart

Gerald Barnhart

DICKINSON - Gerald "Jerry" D. Barnhart, 78, Dickinson, died Aug. 15, 2006, at St. Alexius Medical Center, Bismarck, after complications from a heart condition. His wife, six children, and their spouses, and many of his grandchildren were by his side. Services will be held at 2 p.m. MDT Saturday, Aug. 19, at United Methodist Church, Dickinson, where Jerry was a member for 51 years. Interment will be in Medora cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. MDT today and 8 to 11 a.m. MDT Saturday at Ladbury Funeral Service. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church.

Jerry was born Aug. 22, 1927, to Leslie "Jim" and Hattie (Godfrey) Barnhart. He spent much of his childhood in Grassy Butte, until the family moved to Medora, where his father served as sheriff, raised rodeo stock and produced rodeos. Jerry and his brothers and sisters assisted their parents in the rodeo enterprise.

As a young man, Jerry worked for the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, Medora, where he met an attractive young employee, Dorothy Grow, who immediately sparked his interest. On Oct. 28, 1948, Jerry and Dorothy married, embarking on a marriage journey that lasted for almost 58 years. During the first few years of their marriage, Jerry worked in the north unit of the park.

In 1952, the couple moved to Dickinson, where Jerry joined the police force until 1955, when he took a three-year break from local law enforcement to work with the State Highway Department truck regulatory division. In 1958, he returned to Dickinson police department, where he eventually served as Chief of Police from 1963 to 1969. During this period, he earned the honor of special selection to attend the FBI Academy in Washington, D.C., known as "the West Point of law enforcement training." This training gave him excellent credentials to teach law enforcement at the United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck, until 1972, when he resumed the title of Chief of Police, in Dickinson.

Prior to retirement, Jerry received the Lone Eagle Award, a prestigious honor awarded annually to a North Dakota peace officer who "has shown incorruptible soundness of moral character" and has "proven to be a true leader...one who soars above all others to serve as a true administrator of justice."

Retiring from police work in 1984, Jerry did maintenance work for Garsten Management, where he plied various skills from carpentry to plumbing. His ability to fix what was broken made him an invaluable employee, an expert handy man, and almost a magician as a dad and grandpa.

Jerry engaged in several hobbies, particularly oil painting (creating many western-themed works of art), leather tooling and woodworking. He enjoyed fishing and hunting, solving crossword puzzles, reading fantasy fiction, and learning about astronomy and space exploration.

A dedicated family man with a wonderful sense of humor, Jerry treasured times spent with his wife, children and grandchildren. Many a family event saw Jerry and his sons and sons-in-law pitching horseshoes from noon until dark and then playing hours of pool in the basement rec. room. He also loved entertaining his grandchildren with hilarious and heart-warming stories about their parents, or about his own childhood and adolescence. During the last few years, Jerry took additional pleasure in his twice-daily coffee breaks with his "Paragon buddies."

In addition to longtime membership in his church, Jerry was a lifetime member of the North Dakota Peace Officers Association and the Dickinson Elks Club. He also spent many years as member of the Lions Club.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; three sons, Pat (Margaret) Barnhart, Dickinson, Mike (Becki) Barnhart, Mandan, and Jim (Val) Barnhart, Tucson, Ariz.; three daughters, Leslie (Gordi) Pirkl, Dickinson, Terry (Keith) Kadrmas, Washburn, and Deb Bouvette, Dickinson; two brothers, Gaylord (Irene), Portland, Ind., and Clifford (Dolores), Sidney, Mont.; one sister, Joan (Jack) Johnson, Eveleth, Minn.; 16 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Gloria Wilson and LaDelpha Nunn; and one brother, Miles.