Daniel D. Fandrich

Daniel Fandrich of Moorhead passed away on June 12, 2009. He was 92. Daniel was born January 4, 1917 and grew up in McClusky, ND, where he graduated from high school in 1935. He then served in the CCC in North Dakota and Washington. In 1938, he came to Fargo where he worked as an orderly at the Veteran's Hospital and enrolled at NDSU. Daniel enlisted in the 188th Field Artillery of the ND National Guard in 1940. In 1942, he received a medical discharge and was the first returning veteran of WW II to enroll at UND. He studied journalism and graduated with a degree in Communications in 1945. Following graduation, he was an editor for the Grand Forks Herald and a country weekly newspaper before joining WDAY radio in Fargo as a news editor in 1947.

In 1949, Daniel married Dorothy Vernard, with whom he raised three children. They traveled extensively. In 1960, Daniel formed Moorhead Realty, and in 1965 he became an appraiser for the Minnesota Department of Revenue, retiring as Senior Appraiser in 1984.

After retirement, Daniel actively served his community. He was a commander of the Disabled Veterans Chapter in Fargo, president of Mended Hearts of Fargo-Moorhead, and 1988 MeritCare Hospital Volunteer of the Year. Daniel was also a member of the Moorhead Kiwanis Club, Kiwanian of the Year in 1991-1992, and a past moderator of the First Congregational Church in Moorhead, where he was a member for 60 years.

Daniel is survived by his wife, three children and their spouses, Willa-Jean and Ronald Zayic, Andrea Fandrich and Rick Corey, and Blain and Jan Fandrich, along with four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Richard of Seaside, Oregon.