Rodney Hanggi

Rodney M. Hanggi (Rod) of Horace ND. Died September 6th at the age of 76.  He had been under Hospice care at Villa Maria Nursing Home.

Rod was born April 3, 1943 in Langdon ND, the first of five children, to Max and Elaine (Wruck) Hanggi.  He was raised on the family farm north of Munich ND.  He always took his farm duties seriously, but his first love was fixing what broke.  He said he was raised with a cutting torch in his hand and his Mom always said that when given a job that would take a half hour of physical labor, he and his best friend Jim Hall would take two days to figure out how to do it with mechanics.  He attended rural grade school and in Clyde, ND and graduated from Munich High School.  He then went to Bottineau School of Forestry and NDSU before enlisting in the army.  He served in Viet Nam as crew chief on the big Huey helicopters.

Rod then returned to Munich where he and his Dad built pickup campers.  Then he moved to Fargo and worked in the carpenter shop at St Luke’s Hospital.  Unbeknownst to him at that time was a girl working in the lab who would play an important part in his life, but it would take an Adult Education class in sewing for him to meet is future wife Pat Williams.  They were married March 25th, 1972 and lived in the mobile home he rebuilt until property became available just across the Sheyenne River.  First, he built a pole barn for car storage, then the shop was erected with blown in place foam.  They moved into part of the shop and lived there until Pat talked him into getting going on a real house.  He did and they moved in in 2006 and then relaxed, going on car trips and other travels including the Panama Canal and revisiting Carlsbad Caverns.

Rod worked in maintenance at Dakota Hospital, Fargo Clinic, MeritCare, and Sanford Hospitals, but in his spare time he rebuilt wrecked cars including 1966 Chevrolet SS convertible.  This took him on the path of collector cars and as he got older, so did his cars, oldest being a 1904 Schacht.

He loved the old cars, the people associated with them, and the tours the cars got him into.  He felt cars were made to drive but would bring his cars to local shows of the clubs he belonged to which were Valley Vintage Car Club and Red River regional group of the Horseless Carriage Club of America.

Rod is survived by his wife Pat, his sisters Marie Hoel of Salem OR, Melanie Heald of Newberg OR and Corrin (Lynn) Belle of Egeland ND, brother and sister in law Bob and Jeanette Williams of Rochester Mn, nephews Jarrod Hoel of Aloha OR, Arin Belle of Egeland, ND, Scott (Christi) Williams of Shoreview Mn and niece Sandee Williams of Eden Prairie Mn.  He was preceded in death by his parents Max and Elaine, sister Coleen Bourgeois, maternal and paternal grandparents and his beloved PussyCat and Nermal.

Memorials are suggested in Rod's honor to McPherson College of Auto Restoration, 1600 E. Euclid, McPherson, KS  67460.

Rod’s funeral will be held Thursday, September 19th at 2:00 PM at West Funeral Home in West Fargo ND, with Visitation held Noon - 2PM.  Burial will take place in the new Fargo National Cemetery when it is open.    Any old car nuts are encouraged to bring their cars to the service, as West Fargo’s last cruise night starts at 4:00PM.

West Funeral Home & Life Tribute Center, West Fargo

westfuneralhome.com

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