Larry Tebelius, 78, Bowdon died Saturday, September 5, 2015 at the Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck.

Larry was born on August 13, 1937 on a farm near Bowdon ND to George & Olivia (Patzer) Tebelius. He grew up on the family farm as one of three children and went to school in Bowdon, where he played football and was on the 1953 and 1954 undefeated teams. Following his graduation from Bowdon High School in 1955, he attended Union college in Lincoln NE where he met Freida Brown. They were married on October 6, 1957 and returned to Bowdon to farm with his dad.

Larry's love for cattle and horses had him deciding to try his hand at ranching instead of farming, so in the fall of 1968 he purchased a ranch and moved his family to Pettibone, where he raised quarter horses and beef & dairy cattle. His love for horses grew, and with the purchase of TJ Tommy, he started to develop his quarter horse operation, with many broodmares and additional stallions. To accommodate the growing horse business they started to hold yearly horse sales on the ranch every September. Years of working with the horses and breeding lines followed, until Larry decided it was time to try another career path.

In October of 1983 they moved to Napoleon, ND where he started working for Napoleon Livestock Auction. Here he could combine his knowledge of cattle and his love of visiting with people together for the perfect fit.

In 1989 Larry began working for a car dealership in Wishek, ND and of course it was a Ford dealership. He worked there for several years before deciding to semi-retire and become a bovine transportation specialist, as he liked to tell people.

In 2003 he retired and they moved back to Bowdon. Even though he was retired, it was hard to catch him at home. He stayed busy by being active in the community as a Lions Club member and serving on the city council. He was a lifelong member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, filling the roles as a deacon and board member. In addition to these things, he found time to help out area ranchers and of course travel with and without the horses.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Freida, his children, Marsha (Gary) Buchwitz, Mandan, ND, Marlys Harris, Alexandria, VA and George (Stacey) Tebelius, Fargo, ND; his grandchildren Andrew (Stefanie) Buchwitz, Adam (Rachael) Buchwitz, Amber (Brandon) Ripplinger, Melanie Harris, Melissa Miles and Marc Harris; his great-grandchildren, Marley, Lenox, Kyler, Kinsley, Sophia and Camden; his sister, Delores Suckut of Bowdon; his sister-in-law Ruby Tebelius of New Rockford and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Hugo and brother-in-law Bob Suckut.

Funeral: Wednesday, September 9 at 2:00 p.m. at the Bowdon Country Seventh-day Adventist Church of rural Bowdon.
Visitation: Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service at the Nelson Funeral Home of Fessenden.
Burial will be held at the church cemetery.