Lowell Liebenow

Lowell Albert Liebenow was born on January 4, 1942, to Clarence and Alice (Knop) in Fargo, North Dakota, and died on May 6, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Center in Pine River, Minn. After his birth, he lived near Chaffee. N.D. When he was a young child, the family moved to Crawford Lake, Minn., to be close to his mother’s family. They moved back to N.D. two years later and he was raised on the family farm near Chaffee, N.D. He attended a one-room schoolhouse through 8th grade and graduated from Chaffee High School in 1959, one of 10 graduates. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter Lutheran Church, rural Leonard, N.D. Following high school, Lowell attended Concordia College in Moorhead, and Interstate Business College in Fargo. He married Shirley Nellermoe of Christine, N.D., in August of 1964 and worked at various banks in Fargo-Moorhead in the early years of his career. He and Shirley had three children Todd, Kirsten, and Jennifer. Lowell left banking after 18 years to farm when his father was no longer able to do so. Lowell and Shirley were divorced in 1984. Subsequently, he “retired” for the first time, farming in the summers and living and working in Colorado during the winters as a middle-aged ski bum, as he described it. He was proud of his certification as a downhill ski instructor for the disabled and derived much satisfaction from this work. After enjoying this lifestyle for six years, he returned to North Dakota and worked a variety of jobs while taking care of his aging parents in Casselton, N.D. Lowell met Patricia (Pat) Bohnet of Grand Forks, N.D., in February of 1994 and they were married in May of 1996 in Fargo, N.D. Lowell moved to Grand Forks after their marriage and 11 months later they were evacuees when the Flood of 1997 devastated Grand Forks. They were out of their home for a month, but returned after water, electricity and natural gas were restored. In the fall of 2000, he started working as the Box Office Manager for the newly constructed Alerus Events Center in Grand Forks, which opened in October 2001. He worked in this position until May of 2008 when he entered his second retirement at a more traditional age to do so. Early in their relationship, Lowell and Pat found they had a shared connection to and love for Long Lost Lake near Itasca State Park in Minnesota. They started construction of a year-round cabin on the north end of Long Lost Lake in 2003 on a 2-acre lot Lowell had purchased in 1976. It became their sanctuary and weekend get-away for many years following. Lowell’s wishes were that his ashes be scattered at Long Lost Lake after his passing with a marker in Watson Cemetery, rural Cass County, N.D., commemorating his life with the words, “He’s not here. He’s at the lake.” Lowell was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2013 but enjoyed several years of relatively symptomfree daily life with medication. The last few years of his life became increasingly difficult as the disease progressed and other health problems arose. He endured each change as it came having strong opinions on what kind of wheelchair and other assistive devices he wanted, based on his experience with disabled skiers in Colorado. When Pat retired in 2016, they left Grand Forks and moved to a home on Loon Lake outside of Pequot Lakes, Minn., to be close to family (Diana and Steve Verville) and grandkids. They loved their new life in lake country and being close to their growing grandsons who lived a half mile away on the same lake. Their beloved son-in-law, Steve Verville, passed away in an accident less than two months after their move to Loon Lake. Their retirement turned into something completely different than they thought it would be, but Lowell often said they were there for a reason, and he and Pat were grateful to be there. Lowell enjoyed their home on Loon Lake until February of 2021 when he moved to the Good Samaritan Center in Pine River. Lowell passed away on May 6, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Center in Pine River, Minn. Celebrating his life are his wife, Patricia Bohnet, Pequot Lakes, Minn.; his son Todd (Mary) Liebenow, Fargo, N.D.; his daughters, Kirsten (JJ) Plude, Maple Grove, Minn.; and Jennifer (Tony) Wilwerding, Omaha, Neb.; his step-daughters, Sarah Bohnet (Tim McKenna), Saint Paul, Minn. and Diana Verville, Pequot Lakes, Minn.; his step-son, Matthew Papineau, Rapid City, S.D. ; and his grandchildren, Jones Maxwell, Ryan Liebenow, Olivia Plude, Violet Wilwerding, Tyrian Wilwerding, Logan Verville, and Wyatt Verville. Also left to mourn his loss is Teddy, his Golden Retriever, who often visited him at the Good Samaritan Home. He is also survived by his brother, Warren (Arlys) Liebenow, of Wayzata, Minn., nephew, J. Paul Liebenow, of Wayzata; niece Kathryn (Scott) Buccola and great-niece Annelise Buccola of Saint Paul; and sister-in-law, Diane Bohnet (Dan Banks), of Sebastopol, CA. Lowell is also survived by many cousins with whom he enjoyed keeping in touch. Any family gathering and the occasional reunion with cousins were highlights he enjoyed immensely. Lowell enjoyed being the patriarch of his large, blended family and for many years, he and Pat hosted a post-Christmas gathering of this family at various locations. He especially enjoyed his grandchildren and when leaving would always tell them, “You be good ‘til I get back!” In later years, the grandkids turned the table on him and left him with the same admonition, adding, “I’ll be checking on you!” Lowell was a loving, generous husband and a dedicated father and grandfather. He loved a good joke and was a great storyteller until Parkinson’s robbed him of that ability. He was a voracious reader with hundreds of books in his library. He loved feeding the birds at Long Lost Lake and Loon Lake and always looked forward to the return of the loons and hummingbirds in the spring, marking the dates on the calendar. He built his dream shop at Long Lost Lake in which he spent many contented hours. As he said near the end of his life, he enjoyed a good life and got to do most everything he wanted to do. It was good. Lowell was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Alice Liebenow, his paternal grandparents Frank and Otillie (Wiesbach) Liebenow, maternal grandparents Albert H. and Emma M. (Zitzloff) Knop, and son-in-law Steve Verville.

A memorial service will be held 2pm on Wednesday May 12, 2021 at the Lutheran Church Of The Cross in Nisswa. Visitation will be held one hour prior.

Arrangements have been entrusted with the Brenny Family Funeral Chapel.