Herman “Skip” Morth, age 97, of Fergus Falls, MN, formerly of Fingal, ND, died Friday, April 21st at Pioneer Care, Fergus Falls, MN.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:30 AM on Friday, April 28th at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Fingal, ND.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, April 27th from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

A prayer service will be held at 7:00 PM Thursday evening at the church.

Burial will be in Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery, Fingal, ND.

Herman Isidor Morth, the son of Isidor and Theresia (Buerger) Morth, was born September 20, 1919 in Fingal, ND.

Skip grew up in Fingal, ND and graduated from Fingal High School in 1937.

While in high school, he was the center on the school’s 6-man football team, played basketball and was also active in drama and music.

After his graduation, he went to Wyoming for a short period, doing construction work there.

He later became a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps, work that not only provided a job but also valuable life experiences for what was to follow.

He joined the North Dakota National Guard in November, 1940, serving in the 188th Field Artillery Battalion, Battery D, in Valley City, ND which was headquartered in Bismarck.

With the storm clouds of war gathering, his unit was activated in April, 1941.

After various stateside training assignments, he was sent overseas to fight in the European Theater of Operations in December, 1943.

Now serving with the recently formed 957th Field Artillery Battalion, his unit landed on Utah Beach on June 13, 1944.

Known for its 155mm howitzers, the 957th saw action in five battle campaigns in the ETO, including the Battle of the Bulge.

He served as an interpreter because of his knowledge of the German language.

After returning home from the war, Skip did carpentry work for a time in his hometown area with Isidor Morth & Sons, the family carpentry business.

Barn building was one of their specialties.

He then did maintenance work for the Standard Oil Company before taking over as the Standard Oil Bulk Agent in Fingal in 1949.

He served the local community for over 26 years before retiring in 1976.

In addition to fuel and oil delivery, he was always there to tow a stranded motorist or help an elderly customer out by servicing their oil burners and restoring heat to their home in the dead of winter.

He brought real meaning to the company motto at that time:

“You expect more from Standard and you get it.”

He then worked for Ussatis Oil Company in Nome, ND before easing into full retirement.

In 1948, Herman married Mary Schlegel at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Fingal.

An inseparable team, together they raised nine children.

In addition to running his oil business, Skip, always the hard worker, ran a small dairy farm complete with pigs, chickens and large gardens to feed his growing family.

Though he did not attend college, he was very articulate and had a love for reading and a wide variety of music.

Skip will be remembered as a faith-filled, frugal and industrious man with great integrity who continually imparted wisdom and good judgement in his humble, reflective, understated manner.

“I did what came naturally and prayed a lot,” he said in summing up his approach to life.

Faith, family and his life’s work were the pillars of his life.

He will be greatly missed.

Skip is survived by his nine children, Paul (Nancy) Morth, Bismarck, ND, Lucy Morth, Sharon, ND, Loretta (Greg) Rockstad, East Grand Forks, MN, Marlene (Tim) Hess, Goddard, KS, Terry Morth, Rosholt, SD, LuElla Von Bank, Sturgis, SD, Myron (Darlis) Morth, Wheaton, MN, Marilyn (Greg) Peterson, Fergus Falls, MN and Cindy (Brett) Kapaun, Tower City, ND; 21 Grandchildren; 27 Great-grandchildren.

Skip was preceded in death by his parents, wife Mary, one son-in-law, Don Von Bank, one grandson, Nathan Rockstad, four brothers, John, Henry, Ludwig and Frank; two sisters, Mary Huber and Elizabeth Smorada.

“Cease Fire.

End of Mission.

Mission Accomplished!”

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