St. Hilaire – Jerome Allyn Myhrer, 65, of rural St. Hilaire, died Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at the Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, N.D.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, March 1, at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls with Pastor Mark Helgeland officiating. Casket bearers included Chad Myhrer, Cory Myhrer, Duane Brekke, Jerry Brekke, Larry Myhrer and Matthew Dokken. Honorary casket bearers included Luke Sjulson, Justin Sjulson, Bryan Sjulson, Benjamin Sjulson, Kimberly Myhrer, Mark Moranville and Jeremey Rittenour. Interment was held at Greenwood cemetery in Thief River Falls.
Jerome was born December 30, 1942 at Mercy Hospital in Thief River Falls, the son of Fred Hans and Pearl Vivian (Haugen) Myhrer. He was baptized in the home of his uncle and aunt, Rupert and Nora Haugen, by the pastor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church at Thief Lake.
He was confirmed at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls. He grew up in Thief River Falls and attended the Northrop Elementary School and was a member of the Lincoln High School Class of 1960, although he actually graduated a year later with the Class of 1961. He then studied Carpentry at the Thief River Falls Area Vocational Technical School. Jerome joined the Young Pine Lodge 221 of the Odd Fellows in Thief River Falls and, at 18, served a term as Noble Grand.
He served in the U.S. Army in Frankfort, Germany, from 1962 to 1965, after which he returned to Thief River Falls and worked at the Carlson Rainbow Bakery as a baker.
Jerome was married to Donna Sjulson on July 3, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls. They had two sons, Sean and Patrick. In 1971, Jerome and Donna purchased the J & D Bake Shop in Red Lake Falls, sold that business in 1974, and then made their home in rural St. Hilaire, on the Sjulson Turkey Farm, where Jerome worked as farm manager.
After closing the turkey operation in 1981, Jerome graduated from Northland Community College and later attended Bemidji State University and the University of North Dakota. He then returned to his former career as a baker, this time for Gary’s Rainbow Bakery in Thief River Falls. Some years later, he was employed for a while at the University of North Dakota campus bakery and, in 2001, he started working as a cook at the Seven Clans Casino, rural Thief River Falls. A few years later, he transferred to the Surveillance department.
Jerome particularly enjoyed his job in Surveillance at the Seven Clans Casino and his many friends and co-workers there. He was also very proud of his role in preparing the Echoes from the Past column for The Times in Thief River Falls, especially savoring the events of fifty years ago, many of which brought a smile of remembrance to his lips. He had also served for several years as the Scoutmaster of the St. Hilaire Boy Scout Troop, an assistant coach for youth hockey in Thief River Falls, and had been a member of the St. Hilaire Lions Club.
Together, Jerome and Donna have owned and managed, on a part-time basis since 1984, Myhrer & Associates, a small research business, one of whose foremost accomplishments was a five-year-long project to compile an index of obituaries from the earliest existing newspapers in the counties of Marshall, Pennington and Red Lake in the 1870’s up to the year 2000, as well as an index for the same period of cemetery interments for the over fifty cemeteries in Pennington and Red Lake Counties. As an owner of Myhrer & Associates, Jerome was also a member of the Thief River Falls Chamber of Commerce.
He is survived by his wife, his sons, Sean (Stacy) Myhrer of St. Hilaire and Patrick Myhrer of Ogilvie; two grandchildren, Michaela and Zachary Myhrer; a sister, Virginia (Terry) Brekke, several nieces and nephews, his parents-in-law, a sister-in-law, Barbara Myhrer of Bemidji, and many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Dwight Myhrer. A00003B2008MR05