John Wambheim

John Wambheim, 88, Fargo, ND, passed away on Thursday, May 22, 2014, surrounded by family and music at Lilac Homes Assisted Living in Moorhead, MN. A gathering of family and friends will be from 5-7 p.m., with a prayer service at 7 p.m., Friday, June 6, at Wright Funeral Home in Moorhead. Family and friends may also gather from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead. The memorial service will be 1 p.m. Saturday, June 7 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Interment will be Saturday, June 7, at 5:30 pm at St. John’s Cemetery, one mile north of Hatton, ND.
John was born on February 5, 1926, in Hatton. He had wonderful memories of growing up in North Dakota. He spent his summers from age 6 to 17 working on his Grandfather Olstad’s farm near Galesburg, ND, and he took the reins of the horse leading his Uncle Ivar’s milk cart on morning milk deliveries from age 6. He was so proud of guiding the horse through the delivery route in Galesburg and only learned years later that the horse knew the route by heart.
John graduated from high school in Hatton in 1943, and at age 17 enlisted in the Navy in November of that year. He served primarily in the Philippines as a radio operator aboard the U.S. Destroyer Tollberg. He also served in the Okinawa campaign in late 1945, where nearly 300 U.S. ships were either sunk or damaged. The Tollberg was hit and crippled by a torpedo plane, but was repaired and put back in action within a short time. In 1946, he entered Concordia College and graduated in 1950 with majors in economics and business and minors in music and education.
John met Carol Lorraine Johnson at Concordia and worked with her at Glacier National Park where he drove Red Bus sightseeing tours and she was a waitress at Lake McDonald Lodge. They were married on January 30, 1949, in Hatton.
After college, John taught business in Mora, MN, then moved to Fargo in 1954 to teach vocal music for seven years at Ben Franklin Junior High. He spent many years in insurance and real estate and served with the Fargo Education Association, the Fargo Board of Adjustment, and the Fargo Planning Commission. He volunteered with the “FISH” program, the Volunteers for Community Service, the Cass-Clay United Way, the Campus Ministry at NDSU, the Salvation Army, and the Big Brother program, and he drove the “Big Blue” bus at Olivet Lutheran Church to bring elderly parishioners to Sunday services.
Beginning in 1980, John managed the downtown High Rise for the Fargo Housing Authority and supervised the New Horizons Manor and over 200 low-income family units. John felt a deep commitment to the High Rise residents and for ten years he and Carol served Christmas Eve dinner for as many as ninety residents. Carol cooked the entire meal including hundreds of meatballs. They also made sure the residents had enough food to take home for their Christmas dinner the next day. John and Carol, frequently assisted by their children and grandchildren, put on a Christmas program for the dinner guests. John read the Christmas gospel from Luke and joined his family and the residents in a program of music, highlighted by his rendition of “I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas” by Yogi Yorgesson.
While at the High Rise, John learned American Sign Language in order to communicate with three deaf residents and their friends. At about age 35, he learned to play guitar, then taught his children to play. At about that time, he bought a sailboat and took a course in sailing with his two sons.
John loved camping, music, and singing. For many years, he and Carol traveled out West to camp and to hike, and to attend “Gear Jammers” reunions at Glacier National Park. They also took the family to Outlaw Ranch Bible Camp in the Black Hills every summer for 15 years. In 2007, John enjoyed a visit to his ancestral home, the family farm, or “Vambheim Garten,” outside Ulvik, Norway, with Carol and their son, Bruce.
John spent time with his family at their lake place near Bemidji, MN, where he loved to work outdoors. His idea of relaxation was a project that usually involved hard manual labor on a hot day followed by a swim.
John had a beautiful bass voice. He sang with the Concordia College choir and choirs at Olivet Lutheran Church in Fargo and Trinity Lutheran Church in Moorhead. He was the featured music at services at Bethany for many years and sang at numerous occasions and events throughout the community, frequently with his wife and children. John also sang with the Fargo-Moorhead Opera Company and served as choir director at Olivet.
John was a coin collector and an avid fan of local high school and college athletics and the Minnesota Lynx.
John is survived by his wife Carol; their four children, Karen Neal Eriksmoen of Fargo, Joan Greg Beaumont of Rockville, MN, Dave Wambheim of West Fargo, and Bruce Joanie Wambheim of Northfield, MN; 9 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Helen Hagen, of Moorhead.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Harvey and Josie Olstad, and sister, Catherine Rykken, and brother-in-law, Thorwald Ansgar Rykken.
Special thanks to the kind people at Lilac Homes, the VA, and Hospice of the Red River Valley who cared for John in his final weeks.