LeNora Folmer

LeNora K. Folmer, 84, of Bismarck ND, passed away on June 15, 2026, after six weeks of Hospice Care at St. Vincent's Nursing Home, due to heart issues.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at Bismarck Funeral Home, with Pastor Marvin Winstryg officiating. Visitation will start at 1:00 PM. Burial will be at both Sunne Lutheran Church, Wilton, and also at McClusky City Cemetery, McClusky.

LeNora was born prematurely early on August 17, 1941, in the St. Alexius Hospital, Bismarck, to Reinhold S. Berg and Katherine (Schwindt) Berg of Wing, ND. She weighed a little over 3 pounds at birth. The Nuns in the hospital sat praying by her bedside around the clock for about seven weeks. When the family took her home, she slept in a shoe box on the open oven door to keep her warm. We are all pretty sure that all those prayers, and her own personal will to fight to survive, is what got her through all the hardships in her life until now, when she decided to relax and allow herself to go home to the Lord.

LeNora grew up in Wing with four older siblings, surrounded by many aunts, uncles, and cousins from both sides of the family. She started mothering at the age of 14, when her youngest sister Susan was born. She graduated from Wing High School in May 1960.

LeNora married Delmore Wanner of McClusky on September 10,1960. Together they lived on the Wanner Hereford Ranch, along with his parents, southwest of McClusky. Together they had three children, Maureen, Marian, and John. They worked very hard at both ranching and farming for 17 years. Delmore died in a car accident on November 2, 1977, and she stayed on the ranch until Maureen graduated high school in 1979.

LeNora married widower Paul Folmer Sr of Regan on August 19,1979, then became a second mother to Paul Jr and Tony. Paul Sr would not allow her to work in the fields anymore, but she continued to work with the cattle, grow a garden, cook, bake, can, make jam, and run the household of teenagers. They had just a couple years with an empty nest before taking on the raising of grandkids Anthony and Ashley, barely 3 yrs and 18 mos old. When the family lost 28 yr old Ashley to a brain aneurysm, LeNora and Paul Sr. took on the raising of great-granddaughter Aries. LeNora kept Aries after Paul Sr passed away in 2018, and moved into Wilton for three years. In January 2021 she moved to Hazen to live with daughter Maureen and son-in-law Kevin. She lived in Hazen for 2 1/2 years, traveling to Texas with them for the winters. She absolutely loved those winters on the warm sunny Gulf beach, spending many hours just sitting and watching the ocean waves rolling in while working on her Word Find books. From Hazen she moved into Edgewood Memory Care in Mandan for about 2 1/2 yrs, and then into St. Vincent's Nursing Home this February after suffering a seizure.

Baking was probably her favorite hobby. Anyone who entered her home was always treated to some homemade sweet treat and invited to stay for a meal. If you left her house hungry, it was your own fault. She loved sitting down with a hot cup of coffee and visiting with family and friends, either in person or on the phone. She also enjoyed reading and collecting cookbooks and novels. She loved playing cards and dice games, pinochle and yahtzee being two of her favorites, and she loved fishing and camping too. She and Paul went on fishing trips far north up into Canada where the roads end, boat fished on all the small local lakes in the area and spent lots of winter days living in their fish house on the ice out on Lake Audubon. Other relaxing hours were filled with watching TV, game shows, Hallmark & western movies, and 18 seasons of Heartland.

One of the biggest highlights in her life was delivering her first grandson Anthony, due to the fact that the doctor was late. When he walked in and saw her holding the baby, he asked her if she needed any help. Her reply was simply, "No, I got him." Later on she told us it was a lot easier than pulling calves in blizzards.

LeNora will be deeply missed by family, friends, and caregivers. She is survived by her brother, Burnell Berg; sister, Susan Stockert; daughter, Maureen (Kevin) Mohl; son, Tony (Eileen) Folmer; grandchildren, Anthony (Erika) Folmer, ClairAnn (Gage) Marler, Jessie Wanner (Austin Chmielewski), Brandon Flosstrand, Austin Flosstrand, Taylor (Tyler) Zeller, Cooper Folmer, Sarah (Geoff) Osland, Mandi (Stacy) Kadrmas; daughter-in-law, Ronna (Brad) Johnson; great-grandchildren, Aries, Skyler, Gabby, Jakoby, Rylee, Oliver, Abbott, Ashlynn, Ella, Maverick, and Hudson; sister-in-law, Ethel Samuelson; brother-in-law, Percy (Linda) Wanner and numerous cherished nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by husbands, Delmore Wanner and Paul Folmer Sr; children, Marian Wanner, John Wanner, Paul Folmer Jr; granddaughter, Ashley Folmer; great-grandson, Elijah; sister, Mary & husband Rudy Unruh and brother, Reuben & wife Carol Berg.

We want to express our deep gratitude for all the wonderful caregivers at Edgewood Mandan Memory Care, St. Vincent's Emmanuel Place, and Sanford Hospice.