Lifelong resident of Irvine township, Robert D. Dulmage, 97, died Dec. 12, 2024, in Devils Lake. Bob, the only child of Robert and Sadie (Ritteman) Dulmage, was born Aug. 13, 1927, in Watertown, SD. At the age of 3, his parents put a homestead claim on land near Churchs Ferry close to where Sadie grew up. He was raised in Irvine township, attended and graduated school in Leeds. Bob entered the United States Army serving in the Philippines while overseas, receiving the rank,T/5, due to his typewriting skills and having a truck driver’s license. He received his honorable discharge in 1947 and attended college at North Dakota Agricultural College (NDSU) in 1948-49. In the summer of 1949, he returned to farming with his father, acquiring more cattle and land to continue expanding the original quarter his father homesteaded in 1930. In 1957, Robert Dulmage and Son were awarded the Greater North Dakota Association Soil Conservation Achievement Program for their “outstanding work in soil and water conservation” with a framed picture of the farmstead that still hangs proudly in his home. He met a new teacher to Leeds, Irma Rude, originally from Langdon, ND, and they were united in marriage on June 6, 1962. They built their own home on the Dulmage farmstead and raised three children, Robert, Douglas and Susan.
Bob was a faithful churchgoer, active in the American Legion, the Elks, enjoyed hunting deer in shelterbelts planted by his father, duck and goose hunting in his plentiful sloughs, and fishing on Devils Lake that his family all took part in. In later years, he and Irma would spend a month every winter in Hawaii, walking the beach and eating ice cream. Irma passed away October 29, 2024.
In 2022, Bob and Irma moved into Leeds with their daughter and son-in-law, where he found an abundance of birds to watch, picked rhubarb from his neighbor’s patch and even saw a moose stroll through his yard. On his night to cook, Bob would frequent favorite restaurants in the area: Earls, The Ranch, Old 281 and the Corregidor, whose name brought back many stories of time spent in the Philippines during WWII.
He is survived by his son Robert of Grand Forks; his daughter Susan (Preston) Eidenschink of Leeds; his daughter-in-law Vicki Dulmage of Leeds; five grandchildren Paige Eidenschink of Fort Worth, TX; Abby (Jeff) Fruetel of White Bear Lake, MN; Madi Dulmage of Gold Canyon, AZ; Libby Dulmage, Leeds; Shannon (Mike) Bjorg of Leeds. He is also survived by three great grandchildren Henry and Harrison Fruetel, and Kolbee Bjorg. Bob was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years Irma; his son Douglas; and his parents.
Graveside services with military honors will be held in the Spring of 2025 at Leeds Lutheran Cemetery, Leeds, ND.
Online condolences may be left at www.nelsonfuneralhomesnd.com.
