Hilda Renken

Hilda Renken, 92, Mandan, passed away Thursday, November 30, 2023, at Sanford Hospital in Bismarck.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM on Thursday, December 7, 2023, at First Lutheran Church in Mandan with Rev. Phil Leer presiding. Burial will follow at St. John Cemetery, south of Mandan.

Visitation will be held from 5-7 PM on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at Buehler-Larson Funeral Home, Mandan, with a Prayer Service at 7 PM.  Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.

Hilda was born March 29, 1931, on the family farm northeast of Elgin, ND to August and Mathilda (Sprenger) Finck. She was the eighth of 11 children. From a young age, Hilda worked hand and hand with her Pa in the fields and barn chores. Hard work was what Hilda knew how to do best. 

On May 5, 1948, Hilda married Harry W. Renken in Beach, ND. To this union they were blessed with three children, Gerald “Jerry” Renken in 1949, Colene in 1954, and Barbara in 1962.

Hilda and Harry had many adventures over the years, working and traveling in most of the western part of the United States. They moved back to North Dakota in 1954, to purchase a farm northwest of Shields. Together Hilda and Harry worked hard to make their farm, milking cows and putting up hay. They lived there until 2004, when they moved to Liberty Heights in Mandan. This was a short stay for Harry who passed away in 2005. 

Hilda was proud of her home in Mandan. With her background of working hard, she always made sure when she started something she finished it.

The smile on her face when someone came to visit was over the top and she hated to see you leave. Family was very important to her; she wished she could have seen them more. But she knew that their lives were busy like when she was on the farm and had to get back for chores.

Hilda is survived by her daughters, Colene (Jerry) Dworshak of Nebraska and Barbara Carl (Michael Jackson) of Texas; grandchildren, Clint (Mary) Renken, Chad Renken, Cody Renken, Sherri (Bill) Brown, Jeremy Dworshak, Alicia (Tyler) Glesne, William (Cori) Carl, and Christina Cano; 19 great grandchildren; 1 great-great grandchild; brother, LeRoy (Ann) Finck; sisters, Bernice Mueller and Norma (Stan) Nelson; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Hilda was preceded in death by her husband, Harry; son and daughter-in-law, Gerald “Jerry” (Sandy) Renken; grandson, Christopher Dworshak; parents, August and Mathilda Finck; siblings, Solomon (Eleanor), Alma (John) Berreth, Edna (Elmer) Schrammen, Edgar (Eva), Curtis (Sylvia), Ruth (Leo) Renken, and August Jr; and brother-in-law, Fred Mueller.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Morton County Council on Aging (Meals on Wheels), 301 15^th St. NW, Mandan, ND, 58554.