Ronald Mike Schaefbauer

Funeral service for Mike Schaefbauer, 75, of Arnegard, will be 2:00 pm MT, Friday, December 5, 2025 at Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service.

Burial will take place 10:00 am MT, Saturday, December 6, 2025 at St. Gertrude's Cemetery, Raleigh, ND.

Mike passed away Wednesday, November 26, 2025 at his home.

Mike (Ronald Michael) Schaefbauer passed away Wednesday, November 26, 2025, at his home surrounded by family in Arnegard, ND, after 27 years of living with Type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). Mike always valued quality of life, so he opted for Hospice Care in his final days. Mike was born December 25, 1949, in Flasher, ND. He was the 9th child of George and 5th child of Margaret (Winter) Schaefbauer. He and his cousin, Urbie Vetter, bragged they were "special" since they were both seventh sons of a seventh son!

Mike grew up on the family farm in the Raleigh/Shields/St. Gertrude's area. He graduated from Leahy Elementary School in 1964. His high school days were short lived. As told by Mike, during the first week of his sophomore year, he made a bet with a classmate to see who could get the most "lickings from the nuns". Shortly thereafter, he chose to quit school to help his 65-year-old father run the family farm. In 1975, he made the decision to lease the land to a neighbor, eventually selling it to that family.

On the day that his brother, Clarence, married Corlis Delzer in August of 1972, he met Rena Beach and quickly began a relationship that led to their wedding on June 22, 1973. They were blessed with two sons, William Jack "Bill" and Robert Michael, who then blessed them with Jazmin Paige and Riley Mitchell. His devotion to his family was unmistakable. Even though most of his jobs prevented him from being at home, he made every second he was home count. He was a gentle, proud man of few words. He could carry on an enter conversation with one word, "yeah". He led by example, expecting his integrity and hard work ethic to be followed. His kindness persevered, very seldom letting his temper get the best of him. His love of playing any card game, especially Shang-Hi Rummy, created many memories which will be passed down for generations.

Mike was a self-described "jack of all trades". His motto was "it's not broke if I can't fix it" and he saved EVERYTHING so that when he had time, he could fix it! His first experience working in the oilfield was from 1977 to 1986 for Engineered Well Service (EWS) on a workover rig in the Williston Basin. During a 4-year slump in the oil industry, the family moved to southern California where he worked at various jobs operating heavy equipment, construction on a water treatment plant, and a mechanic. In 1990 they returned to ND to continue working for EWS who contracted to Conoco to operate a workover rig in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and finally in Usink, Russia until 1996. He then tried his hand as a self-employed carpenter, which conveniently gave his sons experience in that field. His next job venture was over-the-road truck driving for "R Line" owned by Casey and Jean Rost. This experience emboldened him to get his own DOT authority as RMS Trucking, leasing to Landstar and various other companies until 2010. At this time, he and Jack Beach started Black Gold Contractors. After the sudden passing of Jack in 2017, Bill and Mike continued to operate the business where Mike was the shop foreman- finally WITH a shop!

Survivors include his wife of 53 plus years, Rena; sons, Bill (Katie Severson), Arnegard, ND; favorite granddaughter, Jazmin (Ben Cleary), Plano, TX; Robert and favorite grandson, Riley, New Brighton, MN; brothers, Leo (Sandy), Black Diamond, WA; Clarence (Corlis), Bismarck, ND; Charles (Joan), Mandan, ND and 29 nephews and nieces and their families.

Mike is preceded in death by his parents, George and Margaret; brothers, Quentin, Martin and Donald; sisters, Verna (Fiest) and Darlene (Glum), sisters-in-law, Luella and Mary Lou; brothers-in-law, Andy Feist and Kenneth Glum; nephews Mike and Greg, Andy Jr. and Mark Feist, and Kent Glum and many other family members from the Beach side.