Evelyn M. Penchoff, 86, formerly of Dickinson, died Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at Fergus Falls, Minn. Evelyn’s Mass of Christian Burial and celebration of her life will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Dickinson, with Msgr. Patrick Schumacher as the celebrant. Interment will follow at St. Wenceslaus Cemetery, Dickinson. Visitation will be on Monday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a rosary & vigil at 7 p.m., with Deacon Bob Stockert presiding, at Ladbury Funeral Service. Visitation will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Tuesday.
Evelyn Marcella Glum was born April 20, 1928 in Bismarck. She was born the eighth of nine children to John and Elizabeth (O’Callaghan) Glum. She met Daniel John Penchoff while working as administrator of the Bowman Hospital. They married April 6, 1956, and moved to Anchorage, Alaska. In 1958 they moved to Dickinson, where they raised their three children Dany, John and Mary. Together they started the business Western Sporting Goods. After Dan’s death in 1972, Evelyn continued the business on her own. She eventually built a new commercial building and changed the name to Western Guns & Cycles. Her son John died in 1976. She sold the business in 1985.
Evelyn was a life-long learner and a woman ahead of her times. She grew up during the great depression. She attended school in Bismarck, graduated from St. Mary’s High School and from St. Alexius Hospital School of Nursing as an RN. She graduated from St. John’s School of Anesthesiology in Springfield, Ill. as a Nurse Anesthetist. She also attended the Universities of Nebraska and Minnesota, and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dickinson State College when she was in her 50’s. Evelyn worked as a nurse anesthetist for 12 years until she and Dan started their business in Dickinson. After selling her business, Evelyn and her sister, Lucille, lived in Makawao, Maui, Hawaii for a couple years, before returning to Bismarck in 1988. Evelyn thoroughly enjoyed working on computers and loved reading. She often said, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” She volunteered with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program teaching computer classes. She was a Volunteer Income Tax Assistant for low income people for about 15 years until her vision failed. In 2008 she moved to Fergus Falls, Minn., to be closer to her daughters.
Evelyn will be greatly missed by two daughters and sons-in-law, Danyle and Jerry Kitzman, Fergus Falls, and Mary and Doug Glaser, Ham Lake, Minn.; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren who were her pride and joy, Daniel and Caroline Kitzman, El Cajon, Calif.; Tammy (Kitzman) and James, Taryn, Cade and Bailey Nygard, Richland, Wash.; John and Lisa, Deklan, Elia and Ayan Glaser, Ramsey, Minn.; Julie (Glaser), Mckayla and Logan Johnson, Ham Lake, Minn.; and one sister, Sr. Terence Glum, OSB, Bismarck.
As she entered heaven she was greeted by her husband, Dan; two sons, John and infant Joseph; her parents John and Elizabeth; brothers, Gary, Joe, George and Bill; and sisters, Molly Salley, Violet Kueffler and Lucille Glum.
