A prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. today, with family greeting visitors starting at 6 p.m., at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E. Divide Ave., Bismarck. A celebration of Raymond's life and burial will take place in Dickinson this summer.
Raymond was the fifth of 13 children of Ray and Clara (Kittelson) Schnell and was born in Dickinson Sept. 5, 1923. His German-Russian grandparents homesteaded near Richardton, and his father was a prominent Republican who served as North Dakota lieutenant governor and ran for governor in 1956.
Raymond completed his primary and secondary education in Dickinson, graduating from Dickinson High School in 1941 and enrolling at North Dakota Agricultural College (NDSU) that fall. His college education was interrupted by WWII when he joined the Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific and was en route to the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland when peace was declared. He spent time with the occupying forces in Japan, Guam, Palau, and China until his honorable discharge in 1946. Raymond graduated from Colorado A&M (Colorado State University) in 1952, with a degree in Animal Husbandry. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho agricultural fraternity and Phi Kappa Phi honorary scholastic fraternity.
Raymond married Geneva, daughter of Jack and Katherine Grasl of New England, Dec. 27, 1949, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Dickinson. They raised two sons and three daughters in Dickinson and moved to Bismarck in 2012.
Raymond's early years were spent on his parents' beef cattle and dairy operation near Dickinson, where he and his siblings milked cows and delivered milk door to door. He was involved with his father and brothers in the operation of the Dickinson Live Stock Sales Company, later Schnell Livestock Auction Market, since its inception in 1937, as well as the expansion of the Schnell auction markets to Miles City, Mont., Lemmon, S.D., and Beulah, in the 1960s and 1970s. He also owned and operated cattle ranches in Adams and Dunn counties.
Raymond Schnell was devoted to the advancement of the beef cattle industry, the livestock marketing sector, and the community in which he lived. He served as president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association and regional vice president of the American National Cattlemen's Association as well as director of the North Dakota Beef Commission, National Livestock and Meat Board, Cattle Fax, and the Beef Industry Council. He was national president of the Certified Livestock Markets Association (now Livestock Marketing Association) and chairman of its Livestock Health Council. He chaired the Greater North Dakota Association's agriculture committee, the N.D. Stockmen's Association's Marketing and Transportation Committee, and the N.D. Extension Service consultation board. Locally, Raymond chaired the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce agriculture committee, Trinity Educational Foundation, was president of the Dickinson Rotary Club, served 25 years on the board of Home on the Range, Sentinel Butte. He was a member of Elks Lodge 1137, Knights of Columbus, Fraternal Order of Eagles, American Legion, and VFW. He received numerous awards and recognition including the North Dakota Stockmen's Association's Top Hand award, Livestock Marketing Association's Stateman of the Year, National Livestock Dealers Association's Distinguished Service Award, NDSU Saddle and Sirloin Club's Agriculturalist of the Year, N.D. Water Users Assn. Water Wheel, and along with his brother, Willard, honored by the Roughrider Days Commission as Rancher of the Year. In his prime, Raymond was popular in southwestern North Dakota and nationally as a humorous and talented emcee and knowledgeable and entertaining guest speaker.
Raymond is survived by his wife, Geneva; children, Gary (Alexana) Eaton, Colo., Peggy (Warren) Sundet, Williston, Don (Karen) Greensboro, Ga., and Sheila (Jed) Gilbertson, Bismarck; 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; siblings, Willard (Linda), Dickinson, Robert, Rapid City, S.D., Shirlene Winn, Georgetown, Texas, Wayne (Maureen), Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., and Gordon (Sandee), Dickinson; sister-in-law, Carla Schnell, San Diego.
He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Mary Kay (Ron) Christensen; brothers, Howard and Jerry; sisters, Lucille Law, Viola Boehm, Oral Shjeflo, and Luella and Laverne, who died in childhood.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Home on the Range, Sentinel Butte, Dickinson Catholic Schools Foundation, or CHI St. Alexius Hospice.
Source: www.eastgatefuneral.com
A prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. today, with family greeting visitors starting at 6 p.m., at Eastgate Funeral Service, 2302 E. Divide Ave., Bismarck. A celebration of Raymond's life and burial will take place in Dickinson this summer.
Raymond was the fifth of 13 children of Ray and Clara (Kittelson) Schnell and was born in Dickinson Sept. 5, 1923. His German-Russian grandparents homesteaded near Richardton, and his father was a prominent Republican who served as North Dakota lieutenant governor and ran for governor in 1956.
Raymond completed his primary and secondary education in Dickinson, graduating from Dickinson High School in 1941 and enrolling at North Dakota Agricultural College (NDSU) that fall. His college education was interrupted by WWII when he joined the Marine Corps. He served in the South Pacific and was en route to the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland when peace was declared. He spent time with the occupying forces in Japan, Guam, Palau, and China until his honorable discharge in 1946. Raymond graduated from Colorado A&M (Colorado State University) in 1952, with a degree in Animal Husbandry. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho agricultural fraternity and Phi Kappa Phi honorary scholastic fraternity.
Raymond married Geneva, daughter of Jack and Katherine Grasl of New England, Dec. 27, 1949, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Dickinson. They raised two sons and three daughters in Dickinson and moved to Bismarck in 2012.
Raymond's early years were spent on his parents' beef cattle and dairy operation near Dickinson, where he and his siblings milked cows and delivered milk door to door. He was involved with his father and brothers in the operation of the Dickinson Live Stock Sales Company, later Schnell Livestock Auction Market, since its inception in 1937, as well as the expansion of the Schnell auction markets to Miles City, Mont., Lemmon, S.D., and Beulah, in the 1960s and 1970s. He also owned and operated cattle ranches in Adams and Dunn counties.
Raymond Schnell was devoted to the advancement of the beef cattle industry, the livestock marketing sector, and the community in which he lived. He served as president of the North Dakota Stockmen's Association and regional vice president of the American National Cattlemen's Association as well as director of the North Dakota Beef Commission, National Livestock and Meat Board, Cattle Fax, and the Beef Industry Council. He was national president of the Certified Livestock Markets Association (now Livestock Marketing Association) and chairman of its Livestock Health Council. He chaired the Greater North Dakota Association's agriculture committee, the N.D. Stockmen's Association's Marketing and Transportation Committee, and the N.D. Extension Service consultation board. Locally, Raymond chaired the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce agriculture committee, Trinity Educational Foundation, was president of the Dickinson Rotary Club, served 25 years on the board of Home on the Range, Sentinel Butte. He was a member of Elks Lodge 1137, Knights of Columbus, Fraternal Order of Eagles, American Legion, and VFW. He received numerous awards and recognition including the North Dakota Stockmen's Association's Top Hand award, Livestock Marketing Association's Stateman of the Year, National Livestock Dealers Association's Distinguished Service Award, NDSU Saddle and Sirloin Club's Agriculturalist of the Year, N.D. Water Users Assn. Water Wheel, and along with his brother, Willard, honored by the Roughrider Days Commission as Rancher of the Year. In his prime, Raymond was popular in southwestern North Dakota and nationally as a humorous and talented emcee and knowledgeable and entertaining guest speaker.
Raymond is survived by his wife, Geneva; children, Gary (Alexana) Eaton, Colo., Peggy (Warren) Sundet, Williston, Don (Karen) Greensboro, Ga., and Sheila (Jed) Gilbertson, Bismarck; 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; siblings, Willard (Linda), Dickinson, Robert, Rapid City, S.D., Shirlene Winn, Georgetown, Texas, Wayne (Maureen), Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., and Gordon (Sandee), Dickinson; sister-in-law, Carla Schnell, San Diego.
He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Mary Kay (Ron) Christensen; brothers, Howard and Jerry; sisters, Lucille Law, Viola Boehm, Oral Shjeflo, and Luella and Laverne, who died in childhood.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Home on the Range, Sentinel Butte, Dickinson Catholic Schools Foundation, or CHI St. Alexius Hospice.
Source: www.eastgatefuneral.com
Family Members
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Lucille Schnell Law
1920–2001
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Luella Schnell
1920–1920
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Viola Anna Schnell Boehm
1921–1991
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Oral Frances Schnell Shjeflo
1922–2013
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Howard Frank Schnell
1925–1955
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Willard Richard Schnell
1928–2019
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Robert Daniel Schnell
1930–2021
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LaVerne Schnell
1931–1935
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Wayne John Schnell
1937–2021
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Jerry Schnell
1938–2012
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Gordon W. Schnell
1940–2024
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