Marcella “Marc” Kleeman, 95, died Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at her home in the Wellington Assisted Living Center surrounded by her family and hospice.
Marcella was born on July 1, 1927 on the family farm north of Dickinson, ND, the daughter of Isidor and Louise (Petrick) Fisher. She was raised on a farm south of Bowman and educated at a two room country school before attending Bowman High School. She then graduated from Dickinson Model High School.
Marcella attended Dickinson State College prior to being united in marriage to Percy Kleeman on March 14, 1946 at Baker, Montana. They initially made their home at Bowman, where they owned and operated Kleeman Super Valu. They moved to Rugby for a short time prior to moving to Minot in 1958. Along with raising their daughter, Pala, she was employed as a bookkeeper for 24 years at Farmer’s Union Oil Company, where her husband served as the general manager.
Percy died on January 21, 1999. Marcella continued to live in Minot and had moved into the Wellington Assisted Living Facility, where she loved being a resident and had received excellent care since 2016.
Marcella served on the Ward County Historical Society Board and had done volunteer work for the Trinity Hospital Auxiliary, serving for more than 13,867 hours and as treasurer for the group. She enjoyed gardening, tending to her flowers, traveling various places, especially to China and Spain, collecting John Wayne memorabilia and carnival glass. Family was of utmost importance to Marcella. She and Percy started the “Fall fun bus” trip to Minneapolis for family and friends. They enjoyed attending their grandson, Travis’ activities. Most recently she loved seeing and visiting with her great grandchildren.
Her loving family includes, daughter, Pala (Tim) Waswick, Minot; grandson, Travis John (Allison) Waswick, Mayville; 4 great grandchildren, Madeline, Aubrey, Emily and Levi; nephew, Steve (Sharon) Kleeman, Otter Tail, MN.
Marcella was preceded in death by her parents, husband of 52 years, Percy and brother Ludvik.
Funeral service: Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.
Interment: Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.
Visitation: Friday, March 17, 2023 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.
Memorials: preferred to the Trinity Health Foundation, Verhey Critical Care Endowment Fund or Trinity Health CancerCare Center.
