Jake Haider

Funeral service for Jake Haider, 94, of Belfield will be 11:00 am Friday, January 5, 2024 at Stevenson Funeral Home in Dickinson with Pastor Scott Skones officiating. Military honors will be presented by the Dickinson American Legion Post #3 Honor Guard. Burial will follow at Belfield Lutheran Cemetery.

Visitation for Jake will be for one hour prior to the service.

Jake passed away on Monday, January 1, 2024 at St. Benedict’s Health Center in Dickinson.

Jake was born February 5, 1929 in Grant County, ND, to Mike and Martha (Vetter) Haider. He was the second oldest of ten children.

He attended country school through the eighth grade and high school in Selfridge, but dropped out to help on the family farm.  During the time before he joined the service, he farmed, graded roads and worked in the gold mines of Leed, SD. He joined the Army in February of 1951 and was stationed in France. He was honorably discharged on January 1, 1953. He married Ella Seidel on February 8, 1953 in Lemmon, South Dakota. They added 5 children to this union. 

Jake attended auto body school in Fargo.  He worked construction on the Garrison Dam and Tibor Dam. He strung overhead telephone wires in Michigan, and in Montana he worked as a Ford mechanic in several dealerships for many years. Later, they moved back to North Dakota and he buried underground telephone lines with his brothers. In 1969, the family moved to Belfield, where they bought an 80-acre farm where Jake lived the rest of his life. In 1974 he started his own construction company with his wife and children. They laid underground telephone and power lines in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming during the summers and tore down overhead lines during the winter. Ella passed away in 1977.

In 1990, he married Della Spence and he retired. Della passed away in 2010. During retirement he enjoyed rebuilding and painting antique tractors and spending time with his family. He cherished the moments of working and sharing his knowledge with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Jake will be greatly missed by his children, Allen Haider of Belfield, Alice (LeRoy) Berger of Belfield, Anthony (Della) Haider of Harwood, ND, Arlene (Jim) Frank of Wellington, AZ, and Alison (Larry) Hlebechuk of Dickinson; 15 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; his sisters, Ilene, Judy, and Carol; brother, Joe; and numerous nieces and nephews and their families.

He was preceded in death by his wives, Ella and Della; his parents, Mike and Martha; brothers, Ted, Robert and Paul; sisters Lavonne and Lucille; and grandson, Ben Simnioniw.