Richard Jaeger

DICKINSON -- Richard G. "Dick" Jaeger, 59, Dickinson, died Aug. 25, 2003, at the Dickinson hospital. Services will be held at 2 p.m. MDT Thursday at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson, with Sister Paula Larson presiding. Burial will be held at noon CDT Friday at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Bismarck.

Visitation will be held from 1 to 9 p.m. MDT today and from 8 a.m. MDT to service time on Thursday at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson.

Richard G. Jaeger was born March 11, 1944, in Beulah, N.D., the son of Richard C. and Katherine (Schmidt) Jaeger. He was raised in Bismarck, graduating from Bismarck High School in 1962. Dick completed his education at the University of Iowa at Iowa City, graduating in 1968, with a masters degree.

Dick has the outstanding history of following the development of Human Services in southwest North Dakota from 1968 to 2003; beginning in 1968 in the then small Area Social Service Center, which subsequently became the Badlands Human Service Center. During this period of time, Dick's services as a therapist and program director touched countless numbers of agencies, individuals and families. He also served on numerous boards of other agencies, both public and private.

In recent years, his expertise in program development and use of the computer resulted in his being contracted to develop the statewide program called Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program, which has recently been implemented in all eight of the state Human Service Centers. Dick's present position at the Badlands Human Service Center, located in Dickinson, was Supervisor of Acute Care Services, and he was one of the few national Board Certified Social Workers in the state.

Dick's hobbies were motorcycling, which he dearly loved and shared with his many friends and his family, traveling to many parts of the United States. Hunting and fishing filled out his summer activities, while his favorite winter hobby was woodworking and included building furniture, clocks and other creative gifts for his friends and family. An ongoing project over his lifetime of residence in Dickinson was construction of various additions to his home and landscape improvements surrounding it. Computers have been a great interest from the beginning, in his personal as well as his professional life, and he always loved taking photographs.

Dick is survived by his mother, Katherine R. Jaeger, Bismarck; one sister, Adeline Jaeger and her husband, Don Chapman, Bigfork, Mont.; and two brothers, Larry Jaeger and his wife, Dora Mae Jaeger, Bismarck, and Jim Jaeger and his wife, Jolene Jaeger, Poway, Calif.

He was preceded in death by his father, Richard C. Jaeger; and a nephew, Kyle Jaeger, both of Bismarck.

Over a long period of years, Dick was instrumental in programming for troubled youth at Home on the Range. The family prefers memorial gifts be given to the Home on the Range, 16351 I-94 Sentinel Butte, N.D. 58654.