James Emory Gjerset Sr.

DR. JAMES ("Jim") E. GJERSET, SR. passed away peacefully in his sleep in Georgetown, Texas, on October 28, 2025, at the age of 88. Jim was born on January 14, 1937, in Jamestown, North Dakota, son of the late Esther Gjerset. Jim was the epitome of the American success story. Jim's father left him and his mother before his first birthday. He and his mother struggled to simply survive. Each school year, they traveled to the northwest for his mother's job as a music teacher. Each summer, they returned to Minnesota, where they lived with Jim's uncle in a one-bedroom cabin on Lake Kornis. His mother must have been an amazing music teacher, as Jim had a wonderful singing voice and loved singing in the church choir. Jim rarely talked about his early life, except for meeting the love of his life, his wife LuAnne, when he was 15. LuAnne lived on the other side of the lake in the summers and didn't feel the same way about Jim as he felt about her.

The word "quit" was not in Jim's vocabulary and his refusal to give up on anything was the driving factor of his entire life. The two mottos he lived by, and drummed into his children, were "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" and "quitters never win and winners never quit." He lived by his words. He asked LuAnne to marry him over 100 times before she finally said yes in 1957.

Jim's mother passed away when he was a senior in high school. The day he graduated high school, a few months after his 17th birthday, his uncle drove him to Camp Pendleton for Marine bootcamp. His uncle gave him a $20 bill and said good luck. Jim still had that $20 in his billfold the day he passed away. Jim was a Sergeant and Squad Leader while in the Marines, and a First Lieutenant in the Navy. Jim received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and went on to dental school and a specialty in orthodontics.

Jim and LuAnne ultimately moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and adopted four children. He doted on his children, and they got to grow up with many of the things he could only dream about when he was a child. Without question, those four kids were the luckiest four orphans in the entire world.

In his spare time, Jim enjoyed hunting, racquetball, tennis, and hockey. At the top of the list was snow skiing. He taught all his children how to ski, and even got to ski with several of his grandchildren. Most of his spare time, however, was spent helping his community and supporting dentistry and orthodontics. In Grand Forks, Jim was involved in the Chamber of Commerce, the Grand Forks Symphony Association, the Grand Forks United Way, and the North Dakota State Health Council. He served as President of the Northeast District Dental Society, North Dakota Dental Association, North Dakota Society of Orthodontists, Midwestern Society of Orthodontists, and American Association of Orthodontists.

Jim was the loving husband of LuAnne Gjerset (Johnson) for 68 years; dear father of James ("Jens") Gjerset, Jr., Gretchen (Michael) Matiatos, Heidi Lou Gjerset, and the late Andrea (Jeffrey) Lundeby; proud grandfather of Ryan Gjerset, Connor Gjerset, Emma Gjerset, Savvas Matiatos, Sam Rasner, Hallie Rasner, Alexandra Lundeby, and Jacob Lundeby.

A memorial service will be held in the coming weeks.

Memorial donations in Jim's name may be made to Semper Fi & America's Fund, www.thefund.org.

To post a tribute, you may visit Ramsey Funeral Home, www.ramseyfuneral.com.