Chester Kaelberer, 99, died on August 15, 2023, at Elm Crest Manor in New Salem, ND. Memorial service will be held at Peace Church in New Salem, ND on Friday, August 25, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow at Bethel Church Cemetery.
Chester was born on March 26, 1924, near New Salem, ND, to Christ and Gertrude (Werchau) Kaelberer. He grew up on the family farm south of town. He was educated in a country school south of Judson, ND. On June 5, 1951, he married June Anderson at Sims Evangelical Lutheran Church. They farmed and milked until 1959 when they sold the cows. After that, Chester farmed during the summer and worked other jobs in the winter. They built a house in Bismarck in 1963 where June taught school and Chester managed a potato plant in the winter while still farming during the summer. They moved back to the farm in 1979 when they finished their new house. They traveled during the winter to Yuma, AZ, and have visited 49 of the 50 states. In 2010 they moved to Bismarck to be closer to Marge.
Chester was baptized and confirmed at the Bethel Church. Chester and June attended Bethel Church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bismarck, and Peace Church in New Salem.
Chester enjoyed woodworking and gardening. He had an engineering mind and could fix or repair almost anything. His unique talent was to take an idea and make it better through his creativity. He loved gatherings at the farm where a card game was always played. Chester adored his family and visited them often.
He is survived by his wife, June; one daughter, Margie (Jerry) Ziemann of Bismarck; one son, Greg (Angie) Kaelberer of Waseca, MN; three grandchildren, Nathan (Kelly) Ziemann of Rochester, MN; Jonathan (Stacey) Ziemann of Bismarck, ND; Kristi (Kris) Lien of Fargo, ND, and six great-grandchildren, Brenden, GracieLee, Abby, Mia, Noah, and Peyton Ziemann; one sister, Marian Berger of Dickinson, one sister-in-law, Carol Kaelberer of New Salem, and many nieces and nephews.
Chester was preceded in death by his parents and four siblings, Eugene, Arnold, Chris, and Delores (Kinnischtzke).
Please go to www.b ismarckfuneralhome.com to share memories of Chester and sign the online guestbook. Memorials are preferred to Bethel Church Cemetery Fund, C/O Meredith Werchau, 309 2 nd St. N, New Salem, ND 58563 or the charity of your choice.