Benjamin Zastoupil

Funeral services are Thursday, December 6, 2007, 11:00 a. m. (MST), at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Dickinson, with the Reverend Steve Tangen officiating. Interment is in the Dickinson Cemetery. Visitation is from 9:00 a. m. to 9:00 p. m. at Stevenson Funeral Home, Dickinson, with a prayer service Wednesday, December 5, 2007, at 7:00 p. m. (MST). Visitation continues on Thursday, December 6, from 9-10:30 a. m. at the church prior to service. Ben F. Zastoupil, 85, Dickinson, entered his eternal home on November 30, 2007. Benjamin Franklin Zastoupil was born on July 14, 1922, the son of Stephen A. and Mary H. (Pirkl) Zastoupil, in Stark County, North Dakota. He attended St. Joseph?s Elementary School, Dickinson and enrolled in courses at Wapheton State School of Science. He married Grace L. Nodland on January 1, 1947 on her parent?s farm in Dunn County. They moved to Dickinson that same year and have lived there nearly ever since. For 30 years Ben was employed as a journeyman lineman for West Plains Electric Cooperative, retiring in 1981. Prior to that he also worked as a farmer, butcher, custom combiner, and in defense plants during World War II. He enjoyed woodworking and tinkering in his workshop, with cup of coffee always nearby. Each of his children and grandchildren were recipients of a special woodworking project. He was intrigued by all things mechanical and welcomed the challenge of making things work again. He grew up in a musical family and in his youth Ben was often seen with guitar in hand. An avid reader, the American West fascinated him: Zane Grey and Louis L?Amour got it just right in his eyes. When young he hunted, but after retiring he developed a talent for flower gardening and kept his lawn well tended to the end. Ben?s interest in history was evident through the many trips that he and Grace enjoyed. They visited the Black Hills, the Rocky Mountains, Oregon, California, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington, D. C. , among other places. Twice they traveled to Germany and once to the Czech Republic, his ancestral homeland. During the bi-centennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition Ben and Grace traveled the original trail from Missouri to Oregon. And yet western North Dakota was his home and the Badlands a very special place for him. Ben was a member of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Dickinson for many years. He was also a member of the International Order of Oddfellows. He held local and state-wide offices, including that of Noble Grand of Frontier Lodge # 27 and Grandmaster of the Jurisdiction of North Dakota in 1982-1983. In 1993 he was awarded the Degree of Chivalry in Minnedosa, Canada. Ben is survived by his wife of sixty years, Grace; their four children, Bonita (Herbert) Schmidt, Fargo, Timothy (Denise) Zastoupil, Minneapolis, Minn. , Lynn (Margot Lueck-) Zastoupil, Memphis, Tenn. , Rockford (Sharon) Zastoupil, Bismarck; six grandchildren, Theodore (Shelly) Schmidt, Gilroy, Calif. , Clint Schmidt, Seattle, Wash. , Nicole Zastoupil, Minneapolis, Minn. , Peter Zastoupil, Memphis, Tenn. , and Michael and Bryan Zastoupil, Bismarck; three great-grandchildren, Jonathan, Christian, and Lucas Schmidt, Gilroy, Calif. ; three sisters, Dorothy Neal, (Oregon City), Oreg. , Rose Marie Zelinka, Woodburn, Oreg. , and Georgiana Tymchuck, Woodburn, Oreg. ; and many nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents, Stephen and Mary Zastoupil; his brothers, Peter, Paul, Isidor, Anton, and Philip Zastoupil; and his sisters, Mary Kadrmas, Helen Ficek, Philomena Ficek, and Elizabeth Nodland. Two other sisters died in infancy.


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Burial Date: December 6, 2007
Funeral Home Dickinson, ND

Funeral Service: Thursday, St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Dickinson