John D. Pfeiffer, age 68, of Jamestown, ND, died Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd, New Rockford.

John David Pfeiffer was born March 28, 1949, in New Rockford, ND, the son of James Albert & Vivian (Davis) Pfeiffer.  He grew up on the family farm at New Rockford, and attended school at Superior Township School #1 through the 7th grade, and transferred to New Rockford High School and graduated in 1968. Growing up he helped on the family farm and then after high school continued to build his own farm.   On November 4, 1972, he married his first wife, Jeanette Eckman.  From this union he had two daughters, Christina and Michelle. They divorced in 1996.

They made their home in New Rockford until 1978, when they moved next to the family homestead southeast of New Rockford.  John farmed with his brother Albert until 1988. During the winters,  John tried his hand at different jobs including bartending and truck driving. Driving truck would be his calling in life though he did other jobs including driving a tour bus, photography, gun repair, road construction, heavy haul, and hazardous waste.  Heavy haul truck driving took him to all 48 states of the continental US states and 3 Canadian provinces. Family vacations wherever a load took them.  His daughters took turns going with him, though Michelle would be his most frequent passenger. He was recognized for driving over 3 million miles for one company. On May 24, 1997, he became a grandpa for the 1st time.

In 1999 he met the love of his life, Sheila (Plackner) Rudolph. Their first date lasted 12 hours!  On June 10, 2000, they married at Jamestown, ND, and he gained 2 step daughters, Jennifer and Wendy. They made their home in Jamestown. John and Sheila were rarely apart and enjoyed getting together with friends and family, eating out, camping, and fishing. John loved to cook and would try his hand at anything. He was most famous for his Belgian waffles on Saturday morning and the Pfeiffer Sauerkraut and dumpling recipe. In 2003, his step-daughter Jennifer past away, leaving her 4 month daughter, Majestic, behind. John and Sheila took Majestic in and his role of grandpa became “Papa”. Showing Majestic the world and teaching her about all the things he knew was his favorite hobby. His life mission was spending as much time with Majestic and Sheila that he could.

John was an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish. This also drove his love and expertise for guns. He had built up quite a gun collection at one time. He took several fishing trips to Canada. Opening weekend of deer gun season was a national holiday for John. He NEVER missed a weekend until his health no longer allowed him to go. Deer season was a time for storytelling, eating, drinking, genealogy, and hunting with family and friends.  John was quick to pass on his love for the outdoors and hunting to his oldest grandson. When Terik was 2, John took Terik on his 1st hunt, being sure safety was number 1. When he could no longer hunt, fishing became his favorite thing.

He is survived by his wife Sheila, daughters: Christina Anderson and Michelle (Lane) Koenig, both of New Rockford; step-daughter Wendy (Wade) Reister of Cleveland, ND; 4  grandchildren: Terik Steele, Kalli and Keegan Anderson, Majestic Bjerke; his mother Vivian Pfeiffer, New Rockford; his brother Albert (Denise) Pfeiffer, New Rockford; sisters: Lois (Wil) Schwarz and Ellen Pfeiffer, both of Jamestown, Marion (Randy) Wagner, Neche, ND, Paula (John) Winskye, Snowflake, AZ; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

John was preceded in death by his father James, a brother William, his step-daughter Jennifer Rudolph, and his Grandparents.

In Lieu of Flowers, memorials are encouraged to be given to his family.

PRAYER SERVICE:

Thursday, July 6th at 7:00PM in First Lutheran Church, New Rockford

FUNERAL SERVICE:

First Lutheran Church, New Rockford

DATE & TIME:

Friday, July 7th at 2:00PM

BURIAL:

Sunset Memorial Gardens, Jamestown, ND, at a later date