William Junior Bieber

William “Bill” Junior Bieber, age 84, passed away peacefully at Green Pine Acres nursing home in Menahga, Minnesota, on September 29, 2019. He was born January 27, 1935, at home on the North Dakota side of the state line near Fairview, Montana.  He was the second surviving child of William Lewis Bieber and Elsa Regina Beyl Bieber. There were 14 surviving children altogether in the family, 7 boys and 7 girls.  Those who preceded him in death are Irene Brug, Elaine Lucas, Elmer Bieber, Julia Bieber, LeRoy Bieber, Dennis Bieber, Gloria Hasler, Nathan Bieber, and Jonathan Bieber.  Those still surviving are Mardella Brock, Arlene Rader, Timothy Bieber, and Carynn LeMieux. When Bill was about 6 years old, William and Elsa moved the family (those that had been born by then), to Broadwater County, Montana, first to Toston and then to Townsend, where what eventually became the family farm was earned/bought through sharecropping.  He and his siblings were raised there, and his parents remained there until his father died in 1979 and his mother died in 1984. As with all of the Bieber children, but especially as the oldest boy, much was expected of him even at a young age. Farming was his parents’ life, and farming became his life.  He once said he wanted to be the best sugar beet farmer in Broadwater County. Bill went into the Army after high school.  After his discharge he returned home and worked on the family farm.  He was a bit of a wild spirit, and his family wasn’t sure he’d ever settle down.  Then on New Year’s Eve 1959 he met Betty Lou Makela. She was born at home outside of Menahga, Minnesota, but her family moved back and forth between Minnesota, Idaho, and Montana, depending on when and where work was available for her dad in logging or working on turkey farms or the like.  At the time Bill met Betty, her family was living in Neihart, Montana, about a 2 hour drive from Townsend. One of her friends was married to Bill’s brother Elmer, and they invited her to go out with them on New Year’s Eve, setting her up on a date with a “nice” young man. However, although the details vary slightly depending on who tells the story, Bill and Betty caught sight of each other and the “nice” boy was left behind.  After a courtship of Bill making the long drive back and forth between Townsend and Neihart, the two were married on August 21, 1959. Bill was 24 and Betty was 16. She had to get permission from her parents to marry him. They soon had four children – Kimberly born in 1960, Stephani in 1961, Guy in 1965, and Elizabeth in 1966. Bill and Betty raised their family and farmed in the Townsend and Toston area from 1959 to 1971, then moved to Hysham for three years 1971-1974, then back to Townsend from 1974 to 1979.  In 1980 Bill took on a local post and pole business, which he worked at until 1985, when he decided to let it go and move to Alaska, where his oldest daughter and her husband lived. He and Betty pared down their belongings and made the long journey up the Alaska Highway that November. They stayed for two years in Alaska, where Bill worked on a dairy farm and Betty was nanny to a family with several children. Then in fall 1987, as Betty’s grandmother’s health was worsening, they decided to move to Minnesota to be closer to her side of the family.  Unable to find work in the Menahga area right away, they applied to Marvin Windows in Warroad, Minnesota, where Betty’s uncle and aunt and their daughter and her husband worked. They were both hired. They then bought 3 acres with a small mobile home on it, and soon after bought a larger mobile home, building onto that and making other improvements to the property over the years. They continued to work at Marvin’s until they no longer could, then spent much of their retirement years visiting family across the country for various special events whenever they could.  They had also visited family whenever they could during their working years. Although they moved to Menahga in December 2017, with Bill in the nursing home and Betty in assisted living, they still consider Warroad their home and their home still stands there, with Betty hoping to return at some point. William “Bill” Bieber is survived by his wife Betty Lou Makela Bieber, daughter Kimberly Bieber, daughter Stephani Page, son Guy Bieber, and daughter Elizabeth (and Nick) DiCiero; grandchildren Zachary Bieber, Danielle DiCiero, Kathryn (and Devon) Barela, Gabriella DiCiero, Joseph DiCiero, Dominic DiCiero, Santana Page, and Christian DiCiero; great grandchildren Aiyana Bieber, Rozalyn Bieber, Zaya Bieber, Karina Adams, Lia Barela, and Ezra Yager; his siblings Mardella Brock, Arlene Rader, Timothy Bieber, and Carynn LeMieux; and multiple cousins, nephews, and nieces. Funeral Services will be held 1:00 PM Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at First English Lutheran Church in Menahga, MN. Visitation will be two hours prior to the service at the church. Interment will be at Mantyla Cemetery.