Raymond Richard Heupel

Raymond Richard Heupel, age 84, Medina, died Monday, March 23, 2015 at Ave Maria Nursing home in Jamestown. Ray was born June 16, 1930 to August and Eva (Moser) Heupel at the Jacob and Elizabeth Moser family farm home with his grandmother Elizabeth Moser acting as mid-wife. He was raised on the Heupel family farm and attended country school two years until bussing was introduced in our area. He then attended Medina High School and graduated in 1948. He farmed with his father after high school and entered the Army in 1952. He served in Germany as an Army Cook from 1952-1954, during the Korean war era. He was discharged in 1954 and married Mary Joan DeKrey, June 16, 1956, at the Malcolm Congregational Church, rural Pettibone.
Ray and Mary made their home on the Heupel Family Homestead 4 ½ miles north of Medina. Ray was the 3rd generation on the family farm. Ray and Mary raised 4 children there. Music was a huge part of their lives. Ray and Mary were great dancers together and people would come to dances just to watch them. Ray taught his children how to work hard and smart and as a team to get things done. He used to say "hard work never killed anyone". He also viewed his farm work as a joy and privilege. He loved his animals and working the soil.
Ray was a member of the Zion Congregational Church in Medina and served in multiple capacities, including the Church Council for many years. As a boy along with his family, he attended the Kassel country church northeast of Medina. He was confirmed in the class of 1943.
One of his passions was to preserve and enhance the soil on his farm for himself and future generations. He served as a Stutsman County Soil Conservation Supervisor for 30 years retiring in 2010 to live out that passion. He was a continuous member of the American Legion for 59 years. He was proud to have served his country in the military and tried to instill love of country in his children and grandchildren. He felt it was an honor to be in the color guard for the Memorial Day services and marched in parades carrying the American flag for many, many years. He gave that up only recently and felt sad about that. He was a member of the Lions Club and loved serving people less fortunate than he. He used to say "we eat three times and day and have a roof over our heads, what more do we need?", and "it's never so bad that someone doesn't have it worse than we do". He served on the Community Development Corporation because he wanted to see new businesses start up and thrive in Medina. He was also very proud of the pelicans and was a Chase Lake Foundation member. He told many, many people who would stop in Medina about our treasure to the north. He was a School Board member when the "new school" was being built in the 60's. He felt that was the progressive thing to do. He used to say that in his "crystal ball" he thought eventually there would just be schools along the interstate in our area, like Steele, Medina and Jamestown. He also loved wildlife. He planted many shelter belts for wind protection for his own farm animals and habitat for wildlife. He set aside acres for wetlands for ducks and geese. He raised pheasants to release into the trees and set out food for them in the winter. He loved watching the deer come into the yard, unafraid. One of his mottos was that "when we take care of the animals, they will take care of us". His Grandma Elizabeth Moser told him that they would have starved when they first came to this country had it not been for the wildlife. He took that to heart in his lifetime.
Ray loved his family and would do anything to help them. He is survived by his 4 children and their families: Rebecca and Alvin Reich, Medina, their 8 children Hannah, Adam and wife Kristi, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Caleb, Phillip, Eva and Abigail,and his great grandchildren, Griffin, Ian, Wes and Mia; Lavonne(Tom)Horton, Fargo, and their 2 children Emory and Chloe; Joseph and Faye Heupel, Medina, and their 3 children August, Courtney and Jeremiah; and Teresa and Paul Buckhaus, Bismarck.
Ray was preceded in death by his wife Mary (2010), parents August (1971) and Eva (1981), 3 older brothers, Wilbert (1988), Elmer (1998), Norman (2009) and younger sister Mildred (1985). He will be greatly missed for his positive attitude, smile and friendliness to all he came in contact with.

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