Eugene “Gene” Cysewski, 90, of Courtenay,ND passed away Friday November 20, at Ave Maria Village in Jamestown.

Gene was born March 10, 1930 in Jamestown, ND to Joseph and Agnes (Wozny) Cysewski.  He graduated from St John’s Academy, Jamestown, ND and went into farming with his father, which was interrupted by a 2 year service in the Army during the Korean Conflict from 1952 to 1953.

He married Joan Wanzek of Windsor, ND on October 13, 1954 at St James Catholic Church in Jamestown and they made their home a quarter mile away from the Cysewski home farm near Courtenay where they lived for over 50 years.  Gene farmed first with his father and later with his son David and his grandson Paul until his retirement in 2011.

Gene had a passionate life-long love of farming, deeply involved with all aspects of it, from the long hours of physical work to detailed record keeping of acres planted, yields and cost-per-acre. He handled all the accounting work not only for his own personal accounts, but also those for his parents, his aunt, and the corporate and partnership farming operations. The Sunday drives home from church always took the long “scenic” route to inspect crops in the area fields or tour the implement dealer lots.

He was a talented, self-taught carpenter, whose first large project was moving an old farmhouse to the homestead and entirely remodeling it for the family home. He helped with woodwork repair at church and built cabinetry and bookcases for family and neighbors.  Using plans from Popular Science magazine, he built a small-scale pool table and converted an accordion into an organ, which is now installed at Ave Maria Village.

 As a member of St Boniface Catholic Church in Wimbledon, he sang in the choir and served church suppers for many years.  He was active in the community and served on the Clementsville elevator board for 29 years, held the office of Gray Township Clerk for 53 years, and was a lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus.

 Gene is survived by two daughters, Jayne (Bill) McDowell, San Diego, CA and Barb (Walter) Cornejo, Brisbane, CA; son David (Lucille) Cysewski, Spiritwood Lake, ND; three grandchildren, Paul Cysewski, Courtenay, ND, Eric Cysewski, Courtenay, ND and Tania (Matt) Legge, Spiritwood, ND; six great grandchildren, two sisters,  Sylvia (Chuck) Woldum, Bloomington, MN and Angela (Jim) Madsen, Jamestown, ND and one brother John Thomas (Evonne) Cysewski, Billings, MT.

In addition to his parents, sister Marjorie, and several brothers-and-sisters-in-law, Gene was preceded in death by an infant son, Richard Jay, and wife Joan.

Gene’s life will be celebrated with a funeral mass and burial at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, monetary donations can be made to Heritage Center in Jamestown or St Boniface Catholic Church in Wimbledon.