{"id":185244,"date":"2019-11-19T19:00:52","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T01:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=185244"},"modified":"2019-11-22T16:18:42","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T22:18:42","slug":"gary-riffe-sunday-nov-17-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=185244","title":{"rendered":"Funeral arrangements for Gary Riffe – Nov 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Gary Riffe, 73, of Savage, MN, (formerly Jamestown, ND) died Sunday, November 17, 2019, at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, MN after suffering from an amyloid stroke.<\/p>\n

Visitation will be from 9-11 AM, followed by a funeral at 11 AM, Monday, November 25, 2019, at Eden Prairie Assembly of God, 16591 Duck Lake Trail, Eden Prairie, MN.<\/p>\n

There will be a live simulcast of the funeral at 11 AM, Monday, November 25, 2019, at Jamestown First Assembly, 1720 Eighth Avenue SW, Jamestown, ND.<\/strong> Interment will be at 10:45 AM, Tuesday, November 26, 2019, Assembly Area 3, in Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN.<\/p>\n

\n

Gary Michael Riffe was born on September 18, 1946 in Spearfish, SD, to George and Dorothy (McKnight) Riffe. When Gary was five years old, his family moved to Roseburg, OR, where Gary graduated from Roseburg high school. After graduating, he moved to Alcester, SD and attended Nettleton Business College in Sioux Falls, SD. While attending college, Gary enlisted in the National Guard and soon after, he met the love of his life, Jill Carlson. They were married on July 20, 1968 in Hamill, SD. After marrying, they moved to Jamestown, ND.<\/p>\n

Due to job positions, Gary and Jill did not stay in one location for too long. They found themselves in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota and then finally settled in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1977, when Gary began his final career at Hi-Acres Manor Nursing Center (now Eventide). He owned and operated Hi-Acres Manor until his retirement in 2009. Somewhere in there they managed to raise four children.<\/p>\n

Gary was a servant. To take on so many roles, made one wonder if he had superhuman powers. He was a husband, dad, grandfather, friend. He took on the roles of salesman, Nursing Home Administrator, past president of the local Rotary Club International (Paul Harris Fellow), Chamber of Commerce, and National Board of Nursing Home Directors. He was actively involved in state and national long term care education as a Certified Fellow and past president of the ACHCA. He served on the Unison Bank board, a Jimmie Booster club member, and a current member of the Board of Regents at Trinity Bible College and grad school, Ellendale, ND. He also sang with the Jamestown Choralaires. He served his country for 31 years in the Army National Guard, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Gary served in each of these capacities, because it meant building relationships. It has been said again and again, \u201cGary never knew a stranger,\u201d because what was important to him was people. From the 42 years he served as an administrator at Hi-Acres Manor to the various roles he took on in the community and as an active member of First Assembly of God church where he served as a deacon, treasurer, leader in children\u2019s ministries, Sunday School teacher, and a small group ministries leader, Gary focused on building relationships through each and every interaction he made.<\/p>\n

Gary did not have a temper and was incredibly patient. This was evident in the many times he learned of one of his children denting a vehicle (more times than he would like to count) or learning of their making poor choices along the way, he always embraced each child or family member tightly and loved each through the incident. His heavenly Father lived through Gary in each reaction\/interaction he had, and because of his devotion to our Maker, we see a glimpse of the unconditional love God has for each of us. He rose early each morning and faithfully spent time in prayer for his children and extended family and friends.<\/p>\n

Gary loved sports at all levels, professional, college, high school and whatever level his grandchildren were playing. He ran, biked, played golf and loved playing pickleball. He also loved classic cars, especially his \u201854 Chevy. He and Jill traveled often and had only two of the fifty states left to visit.<\/p>\n

Gary wasn\u2019t perfect, but he was obedient to our loving Savior. He was a warm, gentle spirit, servant-leader to many, a man of integrity, honesty, compassion and a fervent prayer warrior. He leaves behind a legacy of what it means to love people. He did this by following his life verse, Proverbs 3:5,6, daily, \u201cTrusting in the Lord with ALL his heart, leaning not on his own understanding, but in ALL his ways acknowledging Christ, who straightened each path.\u201c Gary lives on in each of us, because of who he chose to model here on earth. As God loves each and every one of us, Gary took it upon himself to reflect that love which comes from John 15:13, \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.\u201d Gary chose to do this each and every day.<\/p>\n

Gary is survived by his wife of 51 years, Jill Riffe; children, Shaun (Andrea) Riffe, St. Paul, MN, Heidi (Kent) Gustafson, Sauk Centre, MN, Allison (Chuck) Eicher, Savage, MN, and Brandon (RaNay) Riffe, Republic, MO; grandchildren, Christian and Kennedy Riffe, Finley and Karli Gustafson, Natalie, William, and Matthew Eicher, and Lucas and Leighton Riffe; sisters, Lynette (David) Larson, Kirkland, WA, Milicent (Dan) Nelson, Kirkland, WA, and Yvonne (Chris) Riffe-Ebertz, Bismarck, ND; sisters-in-law, Brenda VanGaalen, Lethbridge, AB; Eileen (Ron) Swank, Crystal Lake, IL; and Yvonne McCann, Rapid City, SD; his mother-in-law, Joyce Carlson, Batavia, IL; and numerous nieces and nephews.<\/p>\n

Gary was preceded in death by his parents, George and Dorothy Riffe; step-mother, Phyllis Riffe; grandparents; brothers-in-law, Bennett Carlson and Kenneth VanGaalen; and father-in-law, Lynus Carlson.<\/p>\n

Memorials preferred to Convoy of Hope, P.O. Box 1125, Springfield, MO 65801 or Trinity Bible College & Graduate School, Attn: Business Office, 50 Sixth Avenue South, Ellendale, ND 58436.<\/p>\n

Visitation will be from 9-11 AM, followed by a funeral at 11 AM, Monday, November 25, 2019, at Eden Prairie Assembly of God, 16591 Duck Lake Trail, Eden Prairie, MN. There will be a live simulcast of the funeral at 11 AM, Monday, November 25, 2019, at Jamestown First Assembly, 1720 Eighth Avenue SW, Jamestown, ND.<\/strong> Interment will be at 10:45 AM, Tuesday, November 26, 2019, Assembly Area 3, in Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, MN.<\/p>\n

Arrangements are with Bierman Funeral Home, Northfield, MN. www.biermanfuneralhome.com<\/p>\n

Earlier..<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gary Riffe, 73,\u00a0 of Savage, Minn., died Sunday, Nov. 17, in Fairview Southdale Hospital.<\/p>\n

Funeral Services for Gary Riffe will be at\u00a0 11:00 AM – Nov 25, 2019 at Eden Prairie Assembly of God 16591 Duck Lake Trail Eden Prairie, 55346 Directions<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Visitation will be at\u00a0 9:00 AM – November 25, 2019 – 11:00 AM<\/p>\n

Eden Prairie Assembly of God Church 16591 Duck Lake Trail Eden Prairie, 55346 Get Directions<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Burial\u00a0 will be at\u00a0 10:45 AM – November 26, 2019 at Fort Snelling National Cemetery 7601 34th Ave S Minneapolis, 55450<\/p>\n

From Caringbridge Post<\/a>:\u00a0 Journal entry by\u00a0Heidi Gustafson<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/span><\/div>\n
Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed.\u00a0 And though the mountains be carried in to the midst of the sea, though its’ waters\u00a0 roar and be troubled and the mountains shake with its swelling.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
Be still and know that I am God.The Lord of hosts\u00a0 is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.\u00a0 (excerpts from Psm 46)<\/div>\n
.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0At 10:10pm last evening (Nov 17, 2019),\u00a0 my dearest husband and best friend, took his last breath on earth and his first breath in God’s new heaven.\u00a0 Our children had gathered for a time of reflection, laughter and tears in the room that was our small haven for the past 15 days.\u00a0 I was reminded of the promise we made to each other 51 years ago, we would remain with each other until death parted us.\u00a0 To me, he would have said the same.\u00a0 The Vikings pulled out a late 4th quarter win after scoring zero points in the first half.\u00a0 That win was for Gary.\u00a0 I think he was cheering them on.\u00a0 Now we knew it was our time to say goodbye.<\/div>\n
.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0Amin, our young Somali nurse, was with us the last 3 nights, and grew to be a huge part of us! \u00a0His medical knowledge and caring words provided us comfort as he provided comfort to Gary. \u00a0He gently administrated the morphine every 30 minutes until the final release.\u00a0 During these last days, we learned more about Amin. \u00a0We learned about his culture, he shared pictures of his 2 beautiful children, his celebration of Ramadan, and the food he enjoys; just don’t bring him any Sushi! \u00a0He made us laugh, although he didn\u2019t know anything about about Ole’ and Lena.\u00a0 He was so very kind, compassionate, and genuinely caring.\u00a0 He wasn’t afraid to hug us. \u00a0And he witnessed our faith in action.<\/div>\n
.<\/div>\n
I’m so thankful for each of our children who could be there in these final hours.\u00a0 Two of them left to return home; gather their family on a late school night.\u00a0 God had sent us unseen Angels to this holy place.\u00a0 Heidi,\u00a0 Brandon and I placed our hands on Gary’s body and prayed.\u00a0 We released him to God.<\/div>\n
He is home.<\/div>\n
\u00a0.<\/div>\n
It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well, with my soul.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.\u00a0 Oh what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation, promise of God; born of His spirit, washed in His blood.<\/div>\n
This is my story, this is my song.\u00a0 Praising my Saviour all the day long.<\/div>\n
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gary Riffe, 73, of Savage, MN, (formerly Jamestown, ND) died Sunday, November 17, 2019, at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina, MN after suffering from an amyloid stroke. Visitation will be from 9-11 AM, followed by a funeral at 11 AM, Monday, November 25, 2019, at Eden Prairie Assembly of God, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":184943,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=185244"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":185609,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185244\/revisions\/185609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/184943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=185244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=185244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=185244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}