Nicholas Kelsch

Nicholas J. Kelsch, 89, died December 29, 2025, at CHI St. Alexius. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 10:00 AM at Church of Corpus Christi. Visitation will be held at the Bismarck Funeral Home on January 4 from 2-4 PM with a rosary beginning at 4:00 PM. Burial will take place at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery. To view the livestream, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLQRYEiUSNg&pp=0gcJCU0KAYcqIYzv

Nick was born on December 30, 1935, in Linton to Jacob and Monica (Horner) Kelsch. He lived with his family on a farm in rural Linton where he attended grade school. Nick graduated from Brunner Dale Seminary High School in Canton, Ohio in 1955. He went on to attend a year and a half of college at Assumption Abbey in Richardton and Bismarck Jr. College before enlisting in the Army National Guard in 1957. He was honorably discharged in 1963.

On October 13, 1959, Nick married the love of his life, Frances Schmidt, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Linton. To this union 5 children were born: David, Steven, Darrell, Lisa and Nicholas.

Nick worked for various employers, following or being transferred with the missile construction in ND, SD, WA & KS. He also worked on Route 66 in AZ and worked as a counselor at the Lewis & Clark Job Corp in Bismarck. Moving to Milwaukee, WI in 1967, Nick was employed for a plumbing firm. In 1975, Nick and his family moved back to Bismarck where he worked as a plumber apprentice for ICI. Moving to Richardton in 1976, Nick found the job he loved selling farm equipment and interacting with all the farmers about new and old equipment. He was employed as a salesman at Richardton Farm Equipment until 1997, when Nick and Frances moved to Bismarck where Nick continued his career in sales at Twin City Implement. He retired in December of 2009.

He was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus Local 1515 in Dickinson and the Lions Club in Richardton. Nick was a people person; he loved visiting and spending time with them. Most of all, he loved his family; he was so proud of them and waited for visits from them. Nick also loved nature, watching the wildlife and spotting all of God’s animals with his eagle eyesight. He enjoyed reading and watching TV and was an avid fan of the Minnesota Twins and the Green Bay Packers. Nick and Frances enjoyed dancing, traveling and going to the casino.

Nick is survived by his wife, Frances; 5 children, David (Connie) Kelsch of Washburn, Steve (Tammy) Kelsch of Bismarck, Darrell Kelsch of Fort Myers, FL, Lisa Lund-Rubedor of Dayton, MN, and Nick (Manyu “Mary”) Kelsch of Atlanta, GA; 10 grandchildren, Dan, Leah (Seth) Fisher, Alexis (Kendall) Christianson, Allee (Joel) Wiedrich, Michael Kelsch, Andrea Kelsch, Alyssa (Brady) Wolden, Alex Lund, MacKenzie Lund (fiancé Peter Goncharov) and Jeffery Kelsch; 2 step-grandchildren, Christopher Taylor, Brandi (Steve) Wald; 8 great-grandchildren, Jacob Richard, Addison and Claire Fisher, Alibeth, William and Charlotte Wiedrich, Griffin and Owen Wolden; 6 step great-grandchildren, Kiau, Tyler and Aria Taylor, Siena, Steven and Thomas Wald; brothers, Jerome Kelsch of Bismarck, Richard (Mary) Kelsch of Bismarck; sisters, Theresa Tschosik of Bismarck, Nellie Schumacher of Cheyenne, WY, Mary (Tom) Baumgartner of Bismarck, Phyllis Rosendahl of Hazen, Cathy (Dan) Imdieke of Linton; brother-in-law, Garold Just and sister-in-law, Linda Kelsch.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Raymond Kelsch; sister, Lucy Just; son-in-law, Mark Rubedor; great-grandson, Oliver Wolden; brothers-in-law, Alvin Tschosik, Ron Schumacher, Duke Rosendahl and sister-in-law, Evelyn Kelsch.

In Lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to the Church of Corpus Christi in Memory of Nicholas Kelsch or to the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery: https://www.ndvcf.org/

To share memories with the family and sign the online guestbook, go to www.bismarckfuneralhome.com