Val Tareski

val tareski
Val Gerard Tareski, 73, of Reile’s Acres, ND, passed away Sunday morning, July 5, 2015 at Bethany Retirement Living under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley. He was born December 20, 1941 to Raymond and Vivian Tareski at Bottineau, North Dakota. He graduated from Bottineau High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science and Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from NDSU in Fargo, North Dakota. Val then became a member of the NDSU Electrical (Computer) Engineering faculty, retiring after 43 years. In 1966, he married Millie Harbeke at Page, North Dakota and they enjoyed over 49 years together. Val became an amateur radio operator in high school and enjoyed that hobby for over 50 years. Val and Millie, together, assisted with many charity runs, walks and bicycle tours. He also enjoyed being a member of the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Team volunteering many hours at emergencies and disasters both locally and regionally. Val was the Reile’s Acres auditor for many years. He and Millie attended and volunteered at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in West Fargo. He is survived by his wife, Millie, and children; Nancy (Jeff) Ritchey, Coralville, Iowa, Suanne (Mike) Goroski, Wahpeton, North Dakota, Neal (Christina) Tareski, Fargo, North Dakota, grandchildren; Nicole and Jade Ritchey, Jon and Mary Goroski, Sarah and Leah Tareski and brother, David (Donna) Tareski, Airway Heights, Washington. He was preceded in death by his parents. Val led a life of caring, integrity and always had a positive outlook. Prayer Service: 7:00 P.M. Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at Boulger Funeral Home, Fargo with visitation starting at 5:00 P.M. Funeral Mass: 10:30 A.M. Thursday, July 9, 2015 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, West Fargo. Burial: Holy Cross Cemetery North, Fargo.

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  1. Val and I were both amateur radio operators, members of Sigma Phi Delta fraternity and BS-MS graduates of the EEE department at NDSU. He was destined to be an educator and always had his students best interests in mind. Was there an EEE department or NDSU committee that Val wasn’t either the chairman or a member of?
    Professor Val Tareski (K0QYW) will be missed both on-the-air and in person by his students and friends.
    Our condolences go out to Millie and family.

    73, Jim Froemke
    class of 64 & 67

  2. Prayer go out to the whole family…
    Uncle Val was a very Loving man, I’m going to miss his warm heart felt Hugs & incourging words..
    I Love you Uncle Val… Rest in peace ..
    Your Niece Lauri

  3. Val was the type of man that every man wants to be! I don’t believe he had a mean bone in his body! The world needs more Val Tareskis! The world is a better place because he was here!

  4. Val was my adviser during my years at NDSU and served on my Thesis committee. His commitment to students was unmatched in my opinion. He never sugar coated things and told you what you needed to hear 😉

    NDSU EE has lost an icon.

  5. Val will be deeply missed! A man with a caring heart, love of family and life. Was always there to help someone. My life has been blessed to have been a part of his and able to do great work side by side with Val! My prayers, thoughts and love to Millie and the family!

  6. I’ll always remember Val Tareski. He was one of my freshman professors in electrical and electronics engineering. He made us work hard but I learned a considerable amount from him. I only took one course but since we are both amateur radio operators, we encountered each other fairly frequently, either in passing at the department (EE building) or on the air, etc. Usually he had a joke or quick funny comment to pass. Or just hello. He will be missed.

    My prayers for comfort for Val’s family go out to them in their loss. May they find comfort and peace.

    Frederick E. Stevens, NDSU graduate

  7. Val was my professor in college for a couple courses (Circuits I and DSDI). He was also my advisor, for courses, senior design, and a scholar team. He was even my boss for a summer. I was always warned about him being a tough professor, but I found that he was dedicated to making sure we learned the tough lessons about fundamentals in the classroom instead of in our future jobs where someone could get hurt. His dedication to helping his students succeed and being a great friend has had a great impact on them, including me. I will miss him greatly, but am very thankful for the lessons and friendship he gave me. My thoughts and prayers to his friends and loved ones.

  8. professor tareski was my programming teacher and whenever I ran into a programming error he would take one look and tell u what to change. He was a whiz in computer programming

  9. Hello Millie, I haven’t seen you in a long time but want to extend my deepest sympathy to you and your family on the death of your husband/father Val. May you find comfort through your faith, family and friends.

  10. I was very sad to read about your loss. Val was a great guy, who was very kind and welcoming to me. He’ll be missed.

  11. Sorry to hear of the passing of this great college professor. I still remember his Introduction to Fortran class from 1980. He gave us a difficult (for us) assignment to calculate the voting results from a town-wide election. It was the classic weed-out class and if you passed, you had the confidence to do very well with the rest of the curriculum. I was surprised to run into him at an MS 150 biking event some years later. My condolences to his friends and family. Signed, Ken Hegle

  12. Millie, I am so sorry for you. Please know that I am thinking of you at this time and always.

  13. As an NDSU electrical engineering graduate (1984) I had the good luck to have Professor Tareski for several classes. He was a demanding instructor and I was quite intimidated at first, but as I gained confidence I liked how hard he drove his students, including me. Like Val I got a graduate degree and ended up in teaching (at the U. of Minnesota). I can tell you that the program he and the faculty (including other great instructors like Floyd Paterson) put together at NDSU was absolutely first rate, as good or better than any program at MIT or other top-ranked schools. Creating a program of that quality with the limited resources available at NDSU required an enormous amount of dedication and effort, and people like Val and Floyd made it happen. It’s that kind of dedication that inspires me to work harder and become better as an engineer every day. Rest in Peace Val, enjoy the amateur radios in heaven.

  14. Our thought, prayers and deepest condolences to Millie and Family. We were always in good company when we would meet up with the two of you, and always appreciated Val’s teaching of the HAM radio.

  15. It was a sense of great sadness that we learned of Val’s passing a few weeks ago. I recalled the many times I worked with Val on Programs and Projects to benefit the Community and the RRRA. I have been privileged to know a few people in my life that really give 110% when they take on a commitment and Val was certainly one of them. I always considered people that you can count on like that show a high degree of love and respect for their fellow human beings. Val will certainly be missed by his family but he will also be missed by the members of the RRRA and FM Community in general. Take Care and be assured that our thought are with you. Tim Gooding KD0YX Rapid City, SD

  16. I grew up with Val in Bottineau. We spent a lot of time reading his grandfather’s Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines after school. He was always tinkering with some thing mechanical or electrical. in high school he participated in the science fairs at Minot State Teachers college and generally brought home an award. Unfortunately we didn’t stay in touch as well as I would have liked. he was a good friend and I know he was a good teacher and family man , always with their best interests at heart. he will be missed by all that knew him. I know I speak for all of his Bottineau classmates Fair Winds and Following Seas on your journey Val. Bill Woolcott MMCS(SS)USN RET.

  17. I want to send my condolences to the family. Val was my advisor at NDSU a number of years ago. I appreciated his advice and guidance. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.


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