Evans Funeral Home
"Compassionate Funeral Service"
Carrington and New Rockford, North Dakota
701.652.3003 or 701.947.2911
Secondary Number ~ 701.650.9937
Haakon “Buffa” Ekren
Haakon “Buffa” Ekren, age 88, of Carrington, ND, formerly of Kensal, ND, died Saturday, August 17, 2024, at Golden Acres Manor, Carrington.
Haakon M. Ekren, Jr. was born on March 19, 1936, the son of Haakon and Maybelle (Nelson) Ekren. He grew up on the family farm south of Kensal, ND, and graduated from Kensal High School. On June 23, 1955, Buffa married Marlene K. Ferguson at Trinity Lutheran Church in Carrington, ND.
Buffa and Marlene farmed most of their lives, west of Kensal. In 2017, they retired from farming and moved to Carrington, ND.
Buffa enjoyed his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; he loved his family, farming, raising cattle, visiting with his friends, and collecting antiques. He always had a story to tell, and his quick wit got him out of a speeding ticket more than once! His entrepreneurial spirit began at a young age. Throughout his life, he sold golf carts and trailers, brokered many “deals”, and even invented the “Ranchman” trailers with his brother.
Buffa was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church, a member of the school board, as well as a census taker for many years.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Milton; sisters, Norma Lovell and Annie Fischer; and wife, Marlene.
He is survived by his 3 sons, Dennis (Becky) Ekren of Lakewood, CO, Dean (Brenda) Ekren of Kensal, ND, Kelly (Dana) Ekren of Kensal, ND; 3 daughters, Mamie Ekren of Fargo, ND, Joni (Bryon) Smith of Fargo, ND, and Cassie (Cory) Smith of Carrington, ND; 14 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and several beloved nieces and nephews.
His Visitation will be Tuesday, August 20, 2024, from 6:00PM-7:00PM followed by a Prayer Service at 7:00PM all at Evans Funeral Home, Carrington.
Buffa’s Funeral Service will be held Wednesday, August 21, 2024, at 1:00PM at the United Methodist Church, Kensal, ND.
His Burial will be at the Kensal Cemetery, Kensal, ND.
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I will certainly miss Buffa! Always had a wonderful time with him and Marlene…not to mention all the tractor expeditions with my Dad, Buffa was point man! Sending sincere sympathy to all my 3rd cousins, I hope we will not lose contact.
Lots of memories thru entire life of cousin Buffa. Always ready for anything when I’d see him because of the unpredictability of the encounter. I wish I could have made it up there for the service.
Buffa’s Family,
My sincere condolences to all of you kids. Growing up I spent so much time at your farm visiting Marlene & Buffa & playing with you kids. I still remember one of your horses names, “Babe”. Buffa was always fun to be around and to listen to. Once I was picking rocks for him on the farm and I remember him complaining about a certain piece of farm equipment and he claimed the engineers who designed it built it that way, “just to be ornery”, so the farmer would have to struggle to fix it. We are fishing and camping in Cooke City, Montana right now, out of cell service & I just learned the funeral will be Wednesday. Unfortunately I am unable to get a flight from Bozeman to Denver to Fargo in time. So please accept my apologies for not being there. I really wanted to. Again, I extend my most sincere condolences. Finally, I can’t finish this without telling you of the time Buffa and my dad went to Carrington to haul a piano from my grandma’s house to our house in Kensal. As they made the turn at Pinky Carlson’s the piano rolled out of Buffa’s pickup, onto the road and into a thousand pieces. I was kind of happy because I didn’t want to learn to play the damned thing, but my grandma never forgave them. I suspect alcohol was involved.
Mike Connell
Bozeman, Montana
Our sincere condolences to the Ekren family. Buffa was one of a kind and always had time to chat.
Buffa was a special man no doubt! I pray that you all are able to find comfort in your special memories and in knowing he and your so so sweet Mom are together. Sending hugs your way!
Buffa was such a fun person to be around, always happy and so friendly. Now he is with his beloved Marlene. They were made for each other, two very special people who loved to have fun. Their memories will live on.
My sincere condolences to each and every one of you.
I have so many many cherished memories of your dad and my dad, your mom and my mom. Some of the things they did and got away with.
I loved how your dad laughed, he always made me smile.
On Friday is my dad’s birthday.
I’m sure dad and Edgar are saying to Buffa, “Glad you could finally make it to the party.”
I spent time working for Haakon Senior my last year or so of high school on the main farm South of Kensal. Buffa was a year older than me but he took me under his wing, Showed me the ropes of my duties of my job. We made hay, chopped corn and made silage piles for winter use.
I remember one Saturday I was digging in one of the fields with a new John Deere “R” Diesel and ran out of fuel. Buffa came to the field to see how I was coming. He said Dad was coming out to bring me lunch and fuel but he got involved with something else and completely forgot all about me, my lunch and fuel. He finally made it out there and caught me walking toward town. I remember he had a hamburger and a chocolate malted milk for me in the back seat. It was still good but melted and the burger was somwhat dried out. It was still good and hit the spot.
I sure enjoyed my time working out there and Buffa was always helpful in showing me the ropes. I remember he was very patient and never raised his voice to me if I made a mistake.
We remained friends through the years. I will miss his wit and friendship.
My husband, Doug, and I are friends of Mamie’s and I only met Mr. Ekren one time, but I was so delighted with his mug collection that I contributed a couple of mugs to it. Mamie is special to us, and we send condolences to the entire family. May you all find a gentle and lasting peace in his memory.
After Retiring from my Pediatric Practice and living summers in Kensal, I got to know Buffa, the man who was known by all for his many qualities. I visited him many times in Carrington. He always had a ton of information, with his great memory and kind words of wisdom. He definitely affected my life and many others. I will miss him.
So sorry to learn of Buffa’s passing. He and my father were fast friends and “outlaws”, as his sister Norma was married to my mother’s brother Robert. My dad thought the world of Buffa and they always kept in touch until my dad’s death (Jack Wilson) in November of 2022. My sincere condolences to all of the sons, daughters and their families.