Neone E. Hird

Neone Evelyth Hird, 90, of Ellendale, died December 6, 2018, at Prince of Peace Care Center. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, December 10, at Presbyterian United Methodist Church, Ellendale, with the Rev. Paul Henschen officiating. Burial will be at Ellendale City Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, with a prayer service at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, at Hoven Funeral Chapel, Ellendale. Visitation continues one hour prior to the church service. Neone was born on January 17, 1928, in rural Ray Township, ND, to Orel and Belva Dunsdon (Washburn). She was the youngest of eight children. At age ten, the depression caused the family to move from the farm to the nearby town of Edgeley, ND. Neone graduated as the valedictorian of her high school class in 1945. Neone studied pharmacy at North Dakota State University for one year. Her college pursuits were interrupted by a young serviceman, Livy Hird, also of Edgeley, whom she married on October 5, 1947. The young couple settled in Edgeley with Livy joining his father and brothers in the operation of Hirds and Sons, Inc., an International Harvester farm equipment dealership. Neone was employed by the local drug store, which her children remember as their source of free comic books and old-fashioned chocolate sodas. Livy and Neone moved to Ellendale, ND, in 1965 with the expansion of the family business. Neone was quickly trained by Livy and assumed the position as the business bookkeeper. She retired in 1989. After closing down the farm equipment business, Livy transitioned into becoming the editor of the local newspaper. Neone once again, out of necessity, took on another new role as his unpaid spellchecker. Neone’s community involvement included Eastern Star (Grand Matron), Homemaker’s Club and Methodist Church. She enjoyed knitting, crossword puzzles, attending her children’s and grandchildren’s activities, bird watching, gardening, pulltabs and bingo. Neone’s distinctive afghans were shared with family, friends as well as her caregivers. In 1974, after all their children left home, Livy and Neone built their dream home on Pheasant Lake, located seven miles west of Ellendale. The lake home was the center of family and friends activities until 2012, when due to health issues, Livy and Neone moved back into Ellendale. At the time of Livy’s death in 2015, the two had been married for more than 67 years. Neone spent her last days as a resident at the local Prince of Peace Care Center. Neone is survived by daughter Karen (Robert) Kaiser of Ellendale; and two sons Kevin (Becky) Hird of Branson, MO and Kirk (Jenny) Hird of McKinney, TX. Grandchildren include: Jeff (Nicole) Kaiser, Englewood, CO; Alison (Kyle) Wendt, Mitchelville, IA; Kelly (Jay) Potrzebski, New Lenox, IL; Lindsey (Matt) Hird-McCorry of Chicago, IL; Jessica (TJ) Lang of Crail, Scotland; Jocelyn (Matt) Reynolds of McKinney, TX; Trevor (Ali) Hird of Austin, TX. Great-grand children include: Jacob, Alex and Evan Wendt; Lauren Kaiser; Kayla and Erik Potrzebski; Penelope, Henry and Theo Lang; Evelyn, Jade, Cora and William Reynolds; and Kennedy, Logan and Chloe Hird. Neone was preceded in death by her parents, Orel and Belva; husband, Livy; three brothers, Myrle, Rollin and Evan; four sisters, Lois, Thelma, Iris and Ava; and one granddaughter, Alicia Kaiser. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials are sent to the American Cancer Society (website www.cancer.org) for cancer research.