Norman Kruckenberg

Norm Kruckenberg age 87, passed away June 12, 2018 peacefully at home.  He was born August 8, 1930 to Amalia (Weigum) and Herbert Kruckenberg in Zap, ND.  He grew up and worked on his family’s farm in North Dakota.  In 1946 his family moved to Kalispell, MT to work in the logging industry.  Norm and his brother, Butch, bought an Army Surplus 6X6 to haul ties from the Great Northern Mill in Somers to the Whitefish railhead and elsewhere in the state.  At 15 and 16 years old, they were the youngest entrepreneurs in the field of work with heavy equipment.  In the early 1960’s he developed and patented an accounting system called Western Business and Tax that and continued in the trucking industry.

Norm began NK Trucking and led convoys of trucks for the Alaska Pipeline in Prudhoe Bay.  He truly enjoyed Alaska and began OK Lumber Co. Ace Hardware in Fairbanks.  He and his family were very involved in many community projects during the 28 years he lived in Alaska.

When he retired from the trucking, Ace Hardware and the lumber business, Norm and his wife Angie purchased a motor home in 1995.  They finally took a vacation travelling and exploring the United States.  They moved back to Kalispell, MT, and built a new home below Lone Pine State Park where he lived until his death.  In his younger years Norm and Angie enjoyed boating and water skiing, fishing and dancing.  In his later years, he enjoyed western movies on tv.

He is survived by his wife, Angie; 5 children: son Ray (Mona) Kruckenberg, Kalispell, Rosanne Kruckenberg, Carson City, NV, Richard (Sandy) Kruckenberg, Fairbanks, AK, Regina (Bill) Kegley, Edmonds, WA, and Ron (Katya) Kruckenberg, Anchorage, AK;  Grandchildren , Jenny Wolfe, Tatum, Shelby and Shena, Janet Lyford-Wainscott, Norman (Lon) Lyford, Dean, Kerry and Kyle Kruckenberg, Autumn (John) Luckhaupt, Amber (Frank) Borg, RJ, Wrangell and Zenya Kruckenberg, 20 great grandchildren and his sister-in-law Lila Kruckenberg.  Norm was preceded in death by one daughter, Rita Kruckenberg, his brother, Rupert H. (Butch) Kruckenberg, and his parents.

There will be a rosary at Buffalo Funeral Home Friday, June 15, at 7 PM, and a Funeral Mass at St. Matthews Church on Monday, June 18, at 10:30 am, with a Memorial Service/burial later this summer.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Matthews School or your favorite charity. Friends are encouraged to visit our website at www.buffalohillfh.com to leave notes of condolences for the family. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory caring for the family.