George & Marian Enyeart

George Enyeart, 96, passed February 14, 2024, under the care of Hospice at Bethany Retirement in Fargo, ND. Marian Enyeart, 88, passed away after a brief illness April 20, 2023, at Essentia Hospital in Fargo ND.

There will be a Celebration of Life for both George and Marian at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in the Evenson Memorial Chapel at Johnston & Williams Funeral Home in Ellensburg. Interment will follow the chapel service (approximately 11:30 a.m.), at the IOOF Cemetery/Brick Road Memorial Park Ellensburg.

***

Obituary for George W. Enyeart

George Willis Enyeart was born August 12, 1927, in the family home on the southern shore of Lake Chelan, WA, to Daniel Orlando Enyeart and Mary (Banks) Enyeart.   He was the oldest of five siblings.  The young family moved to Decatur Island and Uncle Wendell (Dan’s brother) became an integral part of the family.  The family eventually settled in Mount Vernon, WA, where George graduated from Junior High and High School. He enjoyed track, had a paper route, and worked at the local slaughterhouse.  He floated down the Skagit River and rode the tide back up in a small rowboat, hunting and fishing along the way.  A loaded shotgun balanced on the handlebars of his bicycle, ever on the lookout for game for the family table.

George joined the Army in 1946 and was shipped to join occupation forces as the battalion Supply NCO with the 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Division stationed at Camp Chuncheon, Korea during World War II.   He was honorably discharged as a Sargeant in the Infantry Reserve in 1947. He returned to the US and spent time working alongside his dad on a ranch in eastern Washington.  In 1950, he was placed with an artillery howitzer National Guard unit from New York and sent to Korea as part of the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1951.  He attended Junior College in Mount Vernon for a year, then transferred and graduated from the University of Washington in 1953.  He pursued his education at the Utah State Ag. College in Logan, Utah, and graduated in 1956 with a master’s degree in wildlife management.

George met his forever valentine, Marian Lay, while they were both attending college in Logan.   He accepted a job as a biologist with the ND Game and Fish Dept. and went ahead to start work in North Dakota while Marian finished her college degree in Utah. They were married in Washington, December 27,1956.    The newlyweds lived in Beulah, ND, for a short time where Marian was teaching high school, then moved to Riverdale, ND.

They bought land in 1969 on what would become the new Lake Audubon and moved a farmhouse onto a new basement foundation.   It would be five more years before the water rose enough to be called lake shore.

George was based out of the Riverdale ND, Game and Fish district office.  The Garrison Dam had just been completed at the time he accepted the position and wildlife management for the area was in a new phase.  George was an active member of the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Garrison.  He held offices in the Central Mountains & Plains section of the Wildlife Society, receiving the Professional Award in 1986.  He retired from the Game and Fish Dept. in 1995.

Four girls were blessed to call him Dad.  George gave them each a nickname and taught them endless skills including how to garden, grind sausage, pound a nail, pitch a tent, load a gun, and bait a hook.   He enjoyed flying with the Game and Fish pilot to perform counts, trout fishing and camping in the Rockies, hunting on Mallard Island, tying flies, and wood carving.  There was always a devoted dog at his side. He looked forward to deer camp and fresh liver, pickled beets and homemade mincemeat pie shared with his fellow hunters. George often lost track of time when out on an adventure and always came back with a story to tell.

Left to celebrate his life are daughters, Mary Ella Gilbertson of West Fargo ND, Laurel Enyeart of Malta MT, and Carrie (Patrick) Enyeart; grandchildren, Steven Gilbertson, Matthew (Nakita Estling) Gilbertson, and Rivers Perry; many extended family members and friends.

Gone ahead to find the perfect fishing hole are his wife, Marian; daughter, Paula Enyeart; his parents;  Uncle Wendell; brothers, Walter Enyeart and Danny Enyeart; sisters, Marie Prestmo and Mary Lou Brady; and son-in-law Daniel Gilbertson.

Pet a dog, fill a feeder, watch geese fly a V formation…think of George who enjoyed all things living (with the exception of a few members of the rodent family).

****

Obituary for Marian Enyeart

Marian Frances Lay was born August 5, 1934, in Vancouver, WA, the daughter of Ivan and Effie (Van Patter) Lay.  She attended school in Vancouver and then graduated from Marysville High School in Washington.

Marian spent her next four summers atop a remote mountain in the North Cascades as a fire spotter for the US Forest Service, including an assignment to the Winchester Lookout.  She enjoyed sharing photos she’d taken of neighboring mountain goats and told of porcupines gnawing on boots she’d forgotten outside.

She attended Everett Jr. College in Everett, Washington, then transferred to Utah State Ag. College in Logan, Utah where she completed her bachelor’s degree in physical education and minored in biology.

It was in Logan that she met George Enyeart when she answered his campus post looking for passengers to rideshare to Washington.  They married December 27, 1956.  George persuaded Marian to follow him to the North Dakota prairies where he had accepted a position with the ND Game & Fish Dept.  They lived for a short time in Beulah, moved to Riverdale, then arranged for an old farmhouse to be moved on to property that would become their beloved home on Lake Audubon.

Marian taught school full-time while in Beulah, then continued as a substitute teacher and Special Ed. teacher in Riverdale and then Garrison.   She also tutored homebound students.  Marian clerked for several years at Robinson Drug Store in Garrison, worked a couple of sessions as a proofreader for the ND Legislative Council, was active as a 4-H leader and fair board member, and volunteered with the ND Library Association Trustees Council and the McLean/Mercer Regional Library Board.   She also served with the ND Conference of the United Church of Christ and was active in her local Garrison church.

Marian excelled at many things including raising four daughters.  She supported and was involved in their many activities and their friends were frequent welcome guests.  She organized family summer trips to visit extended family in Washington or to camp in the mountains of western Montana.  Grandkids were often included in their later ventures, and she looked forward to hearing of their exploits and accomplishments. Marian was a gifted baker, skilled at home renovation projects and delighted in designing personal Christmas cards and letterhead stationery.  She created pen and ink /watercolor sketches and notepaper to sell at craft fairs and dabbled in fiction and non-fiction creative writing.

Left to celebrate her life are husband, George; sister Myrna (John) Harrison; daughters Mary Ella Gilbertson of West Fargo ND, Laurel Enyeart of Malta MT, and Carrie (Patrick Arnold) Enyeart of Clinton MT; grandchildren Steven Gilbertson, Matthew (Nakita Estling) Gilbertson, and Rivers Perry; many extended family members and dear friends.

We envision Marian’s melodic alto voice harmonizing with voices of an angel choir.  Among the chorus are daughter Paula Enyeart; her parents; sister Laverna Cobb and brother-in-law Don Cobb; and son-in-law Daniel Gilbertson.

We will think of Marian when we see an owl…and glimpse her paintbrush dancing in the colorful rays of a setting sun.