Wally Joersz

Wallace Henry Elmer Irvin (Wally) Joersz passed away on October 31, 2020 at Sanford Health in Bismarck.

A private funeral service will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 10 am and will be livestreamed at www.BuehlerLarson.com.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 pm on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at Buehler-Larson Funeral Home in Mandan.

Wally was born June 10, 1933 to William and Florence (Keller) Joersz at Almont, ND.  He worked for his father at the Almont grocery store.  In 1949, the family moved to Mandan when his father opened Bill’s Super Valu.  Wally, along with his brothers, Marv and Bob, worked in the daily grocery business alongside their father.   All of them remained lifelong Mandan residents.

Wally was drafted in 1953, serving two years in the Army.  During this time, on December 28, 1953, he married his high school sweetheart, Eileen Jewel Hunke at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Mandan.  Their union was blessed in the next decade with seven wonderful sons, and their marriage spanned nearly 67 loving years.

Wally and his brothers bought Bill’s Super Valu from their father in 1969, and continued working and expanding the business until they retired in 1997.

Wally was an avid supporter of Mandan, enthusiastically supporting a wide range of individual and group fund raisers.  He was instrumental in combining the Bismarck and Mandan Chambers of Commerce, serving as the first chairman.  Wally also served for many years on the following organizations: Mandan School Board, Mandan Hospital Board, Medcenter One Board, Fort Lincoln Foundation, Bismarck State College Board, Mandan Jaycees, North Dakota Grocers Association, and National Grocers Association.  He also served two terms on the National Advisory Council of the US Small Business Administration (SBA) and as a trustee at the University of Mary.   Wally was proud to serve the Mandan community in many other ways and capacities.  He always gave generously and told people it comes back 10 fold.

Wally had a passion for sports, playing basketball and baseball which included pitching a no-hitter for the Mandan city team.  At a very young age, he became an avid Boston Red Sox fan as well as a Green Bay Packer fan.  For many years he enjoyed bowling and golfing.  Golf accomplishments included 5 holes-in-one all on hole number 7 and all done with the 7 iron (2 at Prairie West, 2 at Apple Creek, and 1 at Kauai , Hawaii).   Wally was a lifetime Mandan Brave supporter and could be regularly “HEARD” at many events.

Wally is survived by his loving wife, Eileen; sons, Garry (Julie), Randy (Marla) all from Mandan, Kyle (Jan) from Bismarck, Ron from Apple Valley, MN, Dale from Scottsdale,  AZ,  and Jay (Jaci) from Sioux Falls, SD; 30 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; one brother, Robert “Bob” of Mandan; two sisters, Janet (Dave) Lunde of Bellingham, WA and Karen (Dick) Nolan of Tucson, AZ; and many nieces and nephews.

Wally was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents; son, Tim; brother, Marvin; two sisters-in-law, Donna and Lucille; and three great-grandsons.

A Celebration of Wally’s life will be held later in summer 2021 with a memorial golf tournament.