Wayne W. Kienenberger

Wayne Kienenberger, 98 of Lisbon, North Dakota passed away on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at Maryhill Manor, Enderlin, North Dakota.

William Wayne Kienenberger, son of William Ezra and Ella (Gustafson) Kienenberger was born November 20, 1919 near Elliot North Dakota.  He Married Mildred Grange on July 28, 1945.  She died on December 1972.  He Married Betty McGrew on July 3, 1974 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisbon. 

He is survived by five grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, one brother Dean(Grace) Kienenberger Of Michigan and several nieces and nephews.  He is preceded in death by his wife Mildred, daughters Ila Mae and Kaye Ann, his parents, brothers, Howard and Clifford and sisters Mildred and  Phyllis.

The following is the obituary he wrote for himself about a year ago.

Wayne Kienenberger was born on the prairie in 1919 and has spent his entire life in the Lisbon area.  He went to school in Elliott North Dakota.  He came from a family of 6 children, three brothers and two sisters.  His parents farmed all their life in the area.  His grandmother came from Iowa with seven kids and started farming on her own.  When in school Wayne was a trapper, selling skunk pelts earned him his spending money.  When he was 14 years old he helped build a road off highway 27 going into Elliott.   That was the half mile line and had never been open to traffic, he used horses to build it.  As a child he hauled grain to Elliott with his horses in an 80-bushel grain box.  At 16 years of age he joined the Civilian Conservation Corp and spent one year in California and one year in Montana. He came home from the Civilian Conservation Corp and worked for area farmers for one dollar a day.  In 1945 he rented land, 1 quarter in Sydna and 1 quarter in Alistor township and dried out in Sydna township.  He then went to work carpentry and build many wood grain bins, pole barns, and later steel beams for grain storage.  If a farmer needed grain storage he was always ready to build it for them and wait on housing projects.  He built several farm homes and remodeled many.  He owned some farm land and at one time had sixty stock cows and raised feed for them.  He also had many horses and broke many horses for horse traders.  He built his own home in Lisbon and lived there from 1966 until 2012.  He built many homes some as far away as 60 miles.  He also built banks and churches.  Horse auctions were his favorite pass time.  His favorite joke was:  A man had his horses for sale.  The horse trader wanted them all.  One wasn’t for sale.   The trader said:”  Why isn’t that horse for sale”?   The man said he didn’t look so good. Well the trader said “I’ll take him anyways”. The trader got home and discovered the one horse was blind.   So, he called the man and said “Why didn’t you tell me the horse was blind’?  Well I told you he didn’t look so good, said the man!  Wayne’s friends wanted him to spend more and called him a tight wad and he couldn’t take it with him, Well, I am taking it with me! It’s going to be in my hands.

Interment: Oakwood Cemetery, Lisbon, ND

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Wayne W. Kienenberger, please visit our floral store.