Wayne Francis Freund, 92, of Cando, ND, passed away Saturday, June 3, 2023, at his home. Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, June 17, 2023, at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Cando at 10:30 a.m. with Father Daniel Musgrave and Father Joseph D’Aco celebrating the Mass. Visitation will be Friday, June 16 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Dunnigan-Dix Funeral Home, Cando, ND followed by a Rosary and Vigil Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m. Burial will be at the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, Cando. Visitation will also continue on Saturday for one hour prior to the services in the church. Military honors will be provided by the Hal Parker Post #79 Cando American Legion and the North Dakota Military Funeral Honors Team.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Wayne Freund Music Scholarship at North Star School. A scholarship fund will be set up. Checks for this scholarship fund can be made out to Marguerite Freund at 7846 Hwy 281, Cando, ND 58324.
Wayne Francis Freund, son of George J. and Anna (Rasmussen) Freund was born on April 2, 1931, on the family farm north of Cando. He was the second of six children.
Wayne attended grade school at the Egeland West country school. Wayne and his siblings walked three miles to school when the weather was nice. When he was in the sixth grade, the country school closed; he then attended Cando Public School where his first teacher was Lillian Eggl. As a Cando high school student, Wayne was very active in the arts. He was a talented bass/baritone singer, a soloist and performed in ensembles and choirs. Wayne won numerous local and state awards for his singing. He studied voice with Mrs. Grace B. Harris; at times his parents paid for these lessons with a quart of cream. Wayne inherited his love of music from his parents. Baseball was also big in his family. He was an excellent pitcher and honed his skills as a young boy at the country school during recess and throwing rocks with this brother George on the farm. To this day you can still see the names of his brothers and sisters and their scores on the grain bin. He also pitched for the Cando High School team.
He graduated from Cando Public High School in 1949. Wayne attended St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and experienced one of “the greatest musical thrills of his life.” While at St. John’s he sang, “The Song of the Golden Calf” from Gounod’s opera FAUST while being backed up by the St. John’s Symphony Orchestra. He received a standing ovation from the entire St. John Auditorium. After that, Wayne was known around campus as “The Voice.”
He was well on his way to a professional career in singing when he was drafted into the Army and was sent to the Korean War. After his discharge, he attended the U. of Minnesota to study agriculture. As a student he would sometimes find himself looking out at the fields and wishing he was farming. Wayne soon returned to the Cando area to farm and continued singing locally in the community chorus, at church and around the area. He also auditioned for the Cedric Adams radio show, won, and toured Minnesota singing at community events and the state fair.
Although Wayne was a singer with a promising future in vocal performance, his destiny was to become a farmer and rancher. As fate would have it, he met the love of his life, Marguerite Buchl, at a local dance, and he never looked back. In 1956, Wayne and Marguerite were married. In 1957, they purchased his parent’s farm, eventually naming it the Lazy W Angus Ranch. But if you ask Marguerite, Wayne was anything but lazy; he was energetic and could work 18-hour days well into his seventies. They raised small grains and registered Black Angus cattle. It was a big deal and exciting day at the ranch when Wayne and Marguerite pulled their first brand new stock trailer into the yard with the words, “Lazy W Angus Ranch” on the side. A few years later, Wayne was one of the first ranchers in the area to purchase a large round baler. Over the years as their operations progressed and his family grew, Wayne took great pleasure in working alongside his wife Marguerite and nine children. He taught all of his children to work hard. They all learned to operate machinery, work cattle, and fix fence. After a long day of working in the fields or working cattle, Wayne was known to reward his kids with a Mountain Dew or strawberry shake.
In addition to farming and ranching, Wayne took on a full-time position as an insurance agent with the First State Bank. His charm and quick wit contributed towards his successful career in insurance. He was delighted to be able to travel around the countryside meeting with his customers and would often come home with stories of the interesting people he got to know and the delicious pie that he had been served. He worked for over 36 years for a number of insurance agencies in Towner County. Wayne also served his community by being on the board for the Cando Rural Fire Protection District from 1976 to 2013. He was a founding member. Despite his heavy work schedule, Wayne still found time for music by singing for weddings, funerals, and community celebrations with Marguerite as his accompanist. Wayne was well known throughout the community for singing the Lord’s Prayer and Oh Holy Night.
Wayne will always be remembered by his children for his wonderful bear hugs followed by “I love you” whispered into your ear. He was a lover of dogs, particularly his faithful friend, Bailey. He loved it when his children came home. Up until the end, he made sure they knew, “The door is always open, and the gas tank is yours.” He loved the open countryside and the beautiful ranch he and Marguerite created. He had a great admiration and respect for Marguerite and his most frequent message to his children, “You have a wonderful mother.”
Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Robert Vernon, George, John “Jack”; sisters, Sr. Rose Marie O.S.F. of Hankinson, Sr. Dominica (Carol) O.S.B. of St. Joseph, and Elizabeth (Betty) Farbo; and granddaughter, Kaitlyn Marie Simmons.
Wayne is survived by his wife Marguerite; children, Mary (Paul) Freund-Braun, Kathleen (John) Hanson, Jacqueline (Gary) Simmons, Thomas (Judy) Freund, Julie (Dave) Marsh, Anne (Kevin) McCallum, Carla (Grady) McDonald, Jason Freund, and Meghan (Steven) Grenier; grandchildren Hayden Braun, Morgan (Hanson) Gilke, Jacqueline Hanson, Cass Simmons, Lindsay (Simmons) Bauman, Joseph, Eliza, and Cecelia Freund, Kathleen (Marsh) Anderson, Jennifer Marsh, Jessica, Meghan, and Zane McCallum, Tom and John McDonald, Adriana, Sylvia, and Julia Grenier; great-grandchildren, Beau and Hattie Bauman.
Online guestbook is available at www.dunnigandix.com.
Dunnigan-Dix Funeral Home of Cando, ND is in charge of arrangements.
