Obituary

Jun 25, 2023

Ronald, “Ron” Nowacki, 72, of Grafton, North Dakota, passed away August 2nd in the comfort of his home, surrounded by family.

Ron was born in Warren MN, September 13th, 1950 and graduated high school in Argyle MN in 1969. He was immediately drafted into the Army in 1970, where he was deployed to DaNang Vietnam 1971-1972. Ron was assigned to the MAL V 1st ALC, Advanced Team 6 where he served as a convoy escort and performed patrols. Upon return to the United States Ron met his future wife Jane Anderson and they married May 4, 1974 in Florian, Minnesota.

Ron and Jane made their first home in Thief River Falls MN, where Ron attended classes for auto mechanics at Northland Community College and worked at Artic Cat. It was around this time that Ron welcomed into the world two children Nicole and Jonathan. In 1983 Ron moved his family to Grafton ND, where he worked as a mechanic on farm equipment and got a reputation of being one of the best and hardest workers in the area. His name was well known in the farming community in both NE North Dakota and NW Minnesota. In 2006, Ron made a career change to Marvin Windows where he worked with the maintenance team until retirement in 2019.

Ron was a proud member of the community, who was always willing to lend a helping hand to others. He was a proud Veteran who had a term as president at his local Legion and was never seen without wearing his Vietnam Veteran’s hat. In April of this year he was one of 100 that were chosen to go out to Washington, DC on the Honor Flight of ND/MN. An experience that he would describe as being “a dream come true”. He is to also be featured in the Fargo-Moorhead magazine “The Good Life” as a highlighted Veteran from the flight, (publication out Fall of this year).

People who knew Ron would describe him as optimistic, a fighter, and somewhat of a jokester. He enjoyed the outdoors, gun collecting, hunting, wood working, spending time with his family and chatting with people out in the community. He had a heart of gold and a smile that brightened a room. His outlook on life was much to be admired. He did not let his cancer diagnosis stop him from doing the things he loved and became an inspiration to many who knew his story. He embraced the beauty of life and every minute of it. Even to the end Ron was never dying, he was still fighting. The love and admiration he had for his family was nothing short of beautiful.

He was preceded into death by son Christopher Nowacki, parents Clearance and Isabelle Nowacki (Argyle MN), and multiple aunts/uncles. He was survived by wife Jane Nowacki, (Grafton), daughter Nicole Nowacki (Fargo, ND), son Jonathan Nowacki (Fargo, ND), two brothers Leonard and Roger Nowacki (Minneapolis, MN) and sister Barbara Kubler (Fargo, ND).

Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 10:30 A.M. at the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church of Grafton, North Dakota. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be at the Fargo National Cemetery, Harwood, North Dakota. Military Rites will be provided by the Grafton American Legion Post #41 and the North Dakota National Guard Honor Guard.