Earl R. Grise, 98, of Devils Lake, ND and formerly of Leeds, ND passed away on Saturday, May 27, 2017 at the Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, ND. Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 PM Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at the Leeds Lutheran Church in Leeds, ND with Pastor Michael Pretzer officiating. Visitation will take place from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM with a 7:00 PM Prayer Service Monday, June 5, 2017 at the Nelson Funeral Home in Leeds, ND. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service. Burial will take place at the Leeds Lutheran Cemetery in Leeds, ND.

Earl R. Grise was born on May 25th, 1919 to Irvin B & Emma Grise near Esmond, ND. He was raised on their family farm along with his five siblings; Albert, Doris, Mildred, Arnold and twin sister Merle. At the age of 17, Earl worked on one of the first crews putting up the first REA poles from Maddock, ND towards the Canadian Border & worked for Chris Solberg. In 1942, Earl was drafted to serve for his country in the 915th Field Artillery Battalion, United States Army in WWII. He was responsible for going ahead of the troops and ensuring communication lines stayed open and functioning. Earl was honored to receive a Bronze Star for heroic achievement regarding military operations against the enemy. Once he returned home from the service in 1945, he moved to the Baker, ND area where he started his 17 years of being a farmhand/farmer/horse trainer with Ole Solberg. During this time, Earl went home for a Sunday dinner at his parents. This is where he met the love of his life, Elaine Thompson, who had been staying with the Grise family as she was teaching at the Baker school house.

Earl and Elaine eloped to Montana on December 28th, 1948; their marriage lasted 61 years until Elaine was called home to the Lord. From this union three children were born; Robert, Jeffery & Mary Ann. They had a family farm where Earl milked cows & farmed until 1988 when they moved into Leeds. The couple were members of the Leeds Lutheran Church where they celebrated their faith, served as janitors for 22 years & where Earl was part of the church council & assistant scout master.

Earl was a courageous & loyal man; his family was his life & he had nothing but joy & pride in his children. He will be missed by his sons; Robert Grise of Devils Lake & Jeffrey (Sandy) Grise of Fargo; his daughter, Mary Ann (Curtis) Kaiser of Streeter; 5 grandchildren: Kelly Grise of Fargo, Carrie, Grise of Minneapolis, Kory (Lindsey) Grise of Fargo, Kelsey (Blaine) Naze of Montpelier & Lacey Kaiser of Streeter; 3 Extended Grandchildren: Patty (Paul) Durbin, Shara (Brad) Benson & Julie (Brian) Wissink. 6 great-grandchildren: Tyrell Terry, DaeVon Herndon, Daxton & Halen Grise, Beau & Kylie Naze.

Earl Passed away Saturday, May 27th, 2017, at the Ultru Hospital in Grand Forks, ND at the age of 98. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Elaine; his 5 siblings; a daughter-in-law, AeSuk Yi "Sue" & a grandchild, Corey Robert Grise.

"See you in the Funny Papers" -Grandpa Prunes