Richard Bellerud
January 11, 1938 ~ February 16, 2011
Richard passed away on February 16, 2011 while vacationing in Sun Lakes, Arizona at the age 73.
Richard was born on January 11, 1938, the son of Leo and Helen (Veum) Bellerud, in Grafton, ND. He grew up in Grafton and graduated from Grafton High School in 1955. At age 17 he began working for Elmer Altendorf Trucking before starting his own trucking business. Richard was united in marriage to Marie Dufault on June 11, 1960, in Argyle, MN. In 1970 he began a brokering business, "Dick Bellerud Trucking" in Grafton. In 1990, they moved the company to Fargo and continued owning and operating his business with his son. Dick was still active in the family business at the time of his death. Richard was a sponsor for the Donny Schatz world of outlaws racing team from 1997 until 2008. He was also an active sponsor for area softball and hockey teams since 1984.
Richard is survived by his loving wife, Marie of Fargo; his son, Larry (Colette) Bellerud of Fargo; his grandson, Jackson Bellerud; two step granddaughter, MacKenzie and Madison Schommer. Also surviving are his siblings - Donald (Dolly) Bellerud of Gilbert, MN; Daryl (Patsy) Bellerud of Wintock, WA; Paul (Marina) Bellerud of Montgomery, TX; Mary Ann (Marvin) Monsebroten of Henderson, NV; and Jackie (Dick) Olson of Washburn, ND. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary in 1962, and also his sisters, Clarice and Lynette.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to a charity of choice.
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Dresser WIMarie and Larry,
Sorry to hear about your lose. Dick was a good man and will be deeply missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.
Palm Desert Ca.I am sorry to hear of Dick’s death. I see him each year we pass thru Fargo and talked to him last month. I have b een a friend for 65 years and will think of him frequently. I know the sorrow Marie and Larry suffer, but get releif by knowing what a wonderful husband and father he was and will be remembered. Jan and I will miss him. God Bless.
GRAND FORKS ND
Sorry to learn of Dick’s passing. Sister Millicent’s description predates my time but I did spend 2 years @ Farmington 110. And I remember Dick’s father when he coached the Auburn American Legion baseball team. I remember Dick from Grafton schools because his brother Donald and I were fairly close and picked potatoes together for Manvel Stark who paid us $0.14 per bushel because there were many dirt lumps. Dick’s cabover engine GMC gravel truck sticks in my mind as he would haul oversize gravel loads and drove anythng but at a “snails” pace.
May the Lord bless your/our memories of Dick for we read in Moses’ Psalm 90:9, “For all our days have declined in Thy fury We have finished our years like a sigh.” Shalom, Glenn
Sanford FloridaDick and Bellerud Trucking have seemed almost like family here at The Fathers Table. Whenever one of Dicks rigs came in for a load you could tell just by looking at his equipment that he was the sort of man that wanted only the very best for those around him. Meeting his son Larry recently and speaking to him at length regarding business and family, it didn’t take but just a very short while to realize that Dick had done very well, not only in business but also in instilling in his son the value of hard work and family values. He will be missed by many.
Fargo ND
Dear Marie and Larry,
My memories of Dick go back to 1989 when I was just a fledgling in the trucking industry. Dick was always so kind and willing to share his thoughts and concerns regarding the trucking industry that I was always happy to see him.
When I saw him, he was always smiling and I knew that he was living life to the fullest. He was a pillar in the trucking world of ND
as well as other areas where is support was so appreciated, I will miss him and his advice.
He has left a wonderful legacy that Larry will now have to carry on, it is a good thing Dick did such a good job preparing you Larry, I know that you will be successful and carry the torch into the future.
Respectfully,
Melissa Dixon
Staunton VirginiaI first met Dick when he and Donnie attended the same one-room country schoolhouse in Farmington Dist. #110, Grafton, ND
. The boys were very polite and easy to get along with, eager to be friends and perfect examples of what young children should be in school. They impressed us all as nice and courageous, having just lost their mother. My heart was touched by their grace and strength to persevere. When they didn’t return the next year we lost touch until I was blessed to make the re-acquaintance with Dick at the AmericInn in Grafton, ND
, in June, 2006, my 55th high school celebration. What a heart-lifting experience to find out what had happened to him! He told me quietly about his company and how he had been able to work to build it. I congratulated him on is success and told him I knew he had it in him and was so proud of him! He and Donnie have permanent places in my heart for their sweet and courageous manner the nicest boys I had ever met to attend that old schoolhouse on the prairie in North Dakota
. They are gems in my memory bank. Blessings to your wife, Marie, and all of your family. May God bless your memory to everyone whose lives you touched. You were a blessing to me and one of those “unforgettable characters” in my life. “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is known by its fruit.” –Matthew 12:33 NIV
West Fargo ND
I can not begin to express the gratitude for the years that I spent with Dick. He is a big part of the driver and the man I am today. He was like a father to me through good and bad, he taught me so much not only about driving but about life and recovery. He was a great inspiration and he will be greatly missed.
Fulton KySo sorry to hear about Uncle Dick. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you.
Caldwell TXWe are truly sorry for the passing of Dick, he was a wonderful man that helped many a driver. Have comfort knowing he’s in heaven showing them how to do trucking Dick’s way, the right way. God Bless Dick’s family in this time of sorrow.
Grafton North Dakota
Marie,
It is with deepest regret that we will not be able to attend Richards services. There is little doubt, as evidenced by the words of the numerous people signing the on-line guest book, Dick was a very special person.
Please know Marie, that you too are represented in all of those messages. Not by name, for sure, but rather by the pure fact that only with you standing by his side could he have possibly accomplished so much for so many.
Richard has left us, by the grace of God. Alhough he was simply a mere mortal, he was given a very special gift from God.
And it is easy to see, that God’s gift was Marie, and their legacy will live on.
We wish Richard Gods speed and our thoughts and prayers will forever be with you and your family Marie.
Sincerely,
Pat and Gary Moe
Marie and Family,
What a legacy Dick created! His generosity benefited so many, many people. From what I knew of Dick, he was not one that wanted public praise, nor was he one to gossip about others’ misfortune. He helped many when others wouldn’t. I know John was always so very grateful for Dick’s support and never took for granted Dick’s dedication to their friendship. As Dick rests in peace, may all of you continue to be blessed and comforted by the prayers of many who called Dick Bellerud their friend.
Moni
Grafton ND
Our deepest sympathies to Bellerud Trucking and family.Seems that he had a much larger family than just Larry! Richard touched many lives with his stories and colorful life experiences. I feel honored to have known him, his company and family over the too few years. He was larger than life! Carry on Marie, Larry and Staff you have big shoes to fill. May you have just as many stories to tell as life passes by!
My heartfelt Sympathies,
A
We are very saddened to hear of Dick’s passing. Not only was he the father of my good friend, he was my friend as well. His generosity, good humor and sportsmanship are traits I will always remember. We are sorry we cannot travel to be with you, but our prayers and thoughts are with you, Larry and the family.
Mandan ND
My daughter and I were visting my parents (Charles and Shirley Feeney) in Arizona a few days before you were to arrive. They were so excited to have you come for a visit.
We are so sad you had to experience such a loss in this way. From all I have read about Dick’s life, it was full of big dreams , great work ethic, and lots of loved ones. God bless you all.
Fargo ND
Marie,
So very sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Grafton N.D
Marie,Larry%familiesYou have our deepest sympathy.
mesa azdick will be missed our deepest sympathy
Mapleton ND
Marie, Larry & Family,
Dick was a wonderful, caring and loving man. He will be missed by many. You will all be in my thoughts and prayers as you go through this difficult time. May your memories carry you through.
Love & Hugs to all,
Sarah Klava
Dilworth MN
Marie, Larry, Paul and Rob-I am sure there are more in the office that I should remember too–you are all in my thoughts and paryers-i have thought of little else in the last days since I heard about Dick. Yes, AW the memories of when Jimmy was part of the Bellerud Family-and i think any driver who has ever worked for Dick has felt that same connection. I can only imagine how broken your hearts are-as mine is broken and i haven’t seen Dick for a few years now-but have missed all you guys–Take Care and I pray for Gods healing and Peace to be with each and everyone of you. Love Kathy Hilde-Jim Hilde’s wife.
Meridian IdMy heart and deepest sympathy goes out to the family and all who knew Dick. “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27 Dick you will be missed!
Grafton ND
Marie and Larry: I have alot of fond memories through the years and the support, care and generosity of Dick. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Dan Kohler Family
Essentia Health, Fargo ND
We’ve enjoyed having Dick in our exercise program for many years. We will all miss his racing stories and his entertaining views on life. We are so sorry for your loss. He was a great guy!
Grafton ND
Larry, So sorry for your loss.
Boise IDMarie and Larry: Our deepest sypathies to you during this time. Uncle Dick will always have a special place in our hearts. He was also my Godfather and it still amazes me that even as I got older and wasn’t able to connect as often as I would have liked to, he never forgot about us during the holidays. A true family man and always a good mentor! God Bless You, Uncle Dick. Rest in Peace.
parker coOur prayers will be with you Marie and Larry. God bless.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this time of loss. Sorry we can’t be there now. It was always a pleasure and interesting to visit with Dick as we always had a good time razzing eachother. Always cherish the moments as he has taught us more about life then we know. God bless the bellerud family!
bullhead city arizona Marie and family
my deepest heartfelt condolances.
you lost a cherished love one.we lost a very dear friend.may the lord console you in the days ahead. god bless
leonard & donna
Belle Fourche S.D.Bellerud Family
Please know how much we thought of Dick.
Donnie really enjoyed working for him and he was always very nice to me. Stay in touch.
Osakis MN
I am so sorry to hear about Mr. Bellerud. I’ll always remember how kind he (and all of the people) at the Trucking Co was to me when Bob died. Dick was an extremely kind and generous man. My prayer is that God will wrap his family in HIS love and peace…Sincerely, Mary Franklin
Adams ND
I attended AVTI Truck Driving school, and graduated Sept of 1984. I had a tip from Doug Juhl, to call Dick Bellerud. I meet him at the Big Sioux Truck stop for a interveiw. He put me right to work! I do beleive at that time other than a gal I knew in TRF, I were some of the few truck driving women. He had faith in me that I could do it. He had me train in with a driver for a while—then came potatoe harvest. WOW, crazy work lots of hour! I was driving the old Red Kenworth with no power steering. Soon, he bought more trucks. I did a lot of solo Chicago runs. Thats where I meet my husband of 24 yrs. now. I was on my way in to unload, he was going west. He asked me for a date when I got back to Fargo. Well, long story short..Jerry and I went to work for him together1986. Then we worked for him until(I no longer drove after my accident in 1994) but Jerry stayed with him until Sept. of 2007. We had many fun times together over all the years. Potatoe harvest was wild and bussy. He will be missed my many people across the USA. Thought and prayers for the family. Geraldean & Jerry Samuelson
Horace ND
My thoughts and prayers are with you Larry and Family!! You could not have asked for a better Boss at work that Dick. He was always there if you needed anything and that was for everyone!! I just wish now I would have had met him for lunch when I was in AZ
on vacation also. Work won’t be the same without him coming in everyday. He will be greatly missed by many!!
I met Dick a little over a year ago when I managed a local home care company. I truly looked forward to Dick coming into my office, or his phone calls, because I always learned something, whether about business or life from Dick.
At one point I was hiring a driver, and Dick happened to stop in. He asked if he could look at some of the resumes. After looking a few of them over, he said “Mike, you have to give someone a chance. They might not be the best qualified, but they might be the best person for the job.”
His passion for treating people right came through every time I talked with him.
I learned more from having Dick as my customer than I did in most of my college classes, or from bosses or other work experience combined. In fact, my fiancé alerted me to his passing today. It wasn’t because she knew Dick, but because I had told her so many stories about him.
It’s no wonder he enjoyed the success that he did.
Union Gap WashingtonTo Mrs Bellerud,Larry and the family.We can not express the feeling of regret and sorrow for your lost. We will remember Dick’s smile when every
we entered the office or passed him in the halls at the Petro. We will never forget the oppurtunity that he gave us or the 17 years that we worked togeather.
Dilworth Minnesota
I am one of the many who Dick and the Bellerud family provided with an opportunity. We all are grateful for that opportunity, and the opportunity to get to know the Bellerud family. Thank you.
Brentwood CaliforniaOur dear brother-in-law, and more like a brother, we will miss you!
We will always remember you as such a generous man…
Rest in peace and you are in a better place.
Tampa floridaI really don’t know what to say. After losing my son we share the same pain The pain subsides as time goes by. But the memories you have will never die.
West Fargo ND
Dick was always so respected in the trucking industry. I enjoyed our conversations when he dropped by Peterbilt. He will be greatly missed! My condolences to his family.
Grand Forks North Dakota
Marie and Larry:
Im so sorry for your loss. I thought the world of Dick. I often remember our over the road trip from Tampa Bay, Fl to Grafton.
White Oak TXI’m so sorry Marie and Larry, you have my deepest sympathy for your whole family.
Park River ND
There are many memories to share for both of us. For Tracy, he was always called “Kid”…. for me, Dick’s shop, in Grafton, was always a place I got to see Big John Shereck, Dick, and my dad, Big Sam, all together. Tracy has learned everything he knows about trucking from Dick. He was a great inspiration, friend, and was a 2nd father to him. He will be truly missed by the community, family, friends, and truckers from all across the USA! Our thoughts and prayers to Marie, Larry, and family!
Tracy & Barbie Seim
Kindred ND
Dick,
You have always been a great friend and as I always teased you, a second father to me. You have always meant the world to me and my family. I am going to miss the lunches, the visits, the laughs and the phone calls when you are wondering why you can’t get on dirtvision to listen to the races. You will live on in our hearts forever!! All my Love,
Deanne
Danvers MnI am sorry for your loss, Dick was a great guy and will be missed.
My deepest sympathy goes out to all of you. Dick was always a great guy to talk with and I am proud to say I knew Dick Bellerud!
Fargo ND
Dear Marie & Family ~
We so enjoyed Dick. What a dear, sweet man he was!
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day together (with the Feeney’s) last year is a favorite memory of ours.
It rarely seems like we have all the time we desire with the ones we love…but God alone, in His Divine Wisdom, determines our time on earth.
Your devout faith & trust is an insipiration to us.
We loved Dick, and offer prayers for him to live joyfully in heaven with all the angels and the saints!
Our hearts are with you,
Susan, Ed, & Sean Patrick
Kindred ND
Dick gave me a job when I really needed one even though I knew nothing about the trucking business. I sure did learn a lot though working for him and Larry. Sometimes the “learning” was a good old fashioned practical joke on me.
I remember one day I was trying to find freight for one of our trucks back from the Northwest and wasn’t having much luck. Pretty soon the phone rang and there was someone that would pay top dollar for a truck heading back to Fargo. While this conversation was going on, the phone rang with another shipper wanting a truck in the Northwest going back to Fargo. They were in a bidding war to get this one truck!!! Little did I know that it was Paul and Larry on the other side of the dispatch office messing with me. I looked over and Dick had his head down and his chair was shaking he was laughing so hard. He had put those guys up to it. We all had a good laugh!
Seriously, though, I will remember Dick as one of those guys that gave me a chance when a lot of people wouldn’t and I will be grateful to him for that.
My condolences to Marie, Larry and Paul.
jacksonvile floridaWe are deeply sadden by the loss of a man who offered opportunities to so many. We are so blessed to having known Dick. He has made an amazing difference in our lives. Grattitude alone isn’t a big enough word to express how we feel and for all he has done for us. Our sincere thoughts, prayers and respect are with Dick, his family and friends during this time.
Fargo ND
Dear Marie and family,
Please know that Jeff, the girls and I are keeping all of you in our prayers. We were very sorry to read about Dick’s passing in the paper today. dick was a wonderful neighbor and always so helpful to us when Jeff was away and home. He was truly a servant of God. God’s blessings to all of you during this time.
Jeff & Barb Hanson and family
jacksonville fl.Sorry to here of your loss we are friends if darrell and judy evors they told us about your father and wanted to let you how sorry we were to here of this hope your days will be good and god bless you and you family.
Green Bay WIGeography has kept me from spending as much time with my Uncle Dick as I would have liked. The last time I saw him in person was at my sister’s wedding.
He was a great inspiration to me in my business and personal lives. He was a good friend to my Dad. He was a good man.
We will miss you, Uncle Dick. You are in a better place now.
Fargo ND
We lost a dear, dear friend in Dick Bellerud.
We pray that God comforts Marie, Larry and the whole family at this time of such great loss.
We’ll treasure the memories…from the Hawaiian cruise, to the countless chats after mass and a great Anniversary celebration just a few short months ago.
Quick story: I last spoke with Dick a few weeks ago. I needed a favor at 9pm on one of the coldest nights of the year…a place to store our “Invest in North Dakota
” Express bus..which is only 45 feet long. Not an easy task. He had the problem solved in 5 minutes. What a guy!
Our 7 year old daughter Haley said it best last night: “Mom, I bet Dick went STRAIGHT to heaven!”
Amen. Rest in peace Dick. Well done good and faithful servant.
Wauchula FloridaGod obviously needed another angel in heaven to help him out. Dick was a great man, and a great person to work with, he will truly be missed, but never forgotten. R.I.P. “DB”