Joel Michael Jung died October 24th, 2013 in his home
after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Mass of Christian
Burial for Joel will be held on Monday, October 28th at 10:00
a.m. at St. Joseph Church in Mandan with burial at a later
date in the Bowman Cemetery, Bowman, ND. Visitation will
be held at 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 27th at St.
Joseph Church, with Rosary/Parish Vigil beginning at 6:30
p.m.
Joel was born in Dickinson, ND on July 20th, 1960 to
Mike and Eva Jung. He attended school in Dickinson and
spent some summers in Bowman taking care of his niece and
nephew. Joel graduated in 1978 and went to work on the oil
rigs for his brother Jeff until 1985. He attended training for an
auto body technician and worked in various shops in Dickinson
and Williston before moving to Mandan in 1995.
Joel met the love of his life, Judy West on May
12th,1995 on a double date set-up by his niece and nephew
who were also friends of Judy's. Their first date was Mother's
Day at St. Mary's Church in Bismarck. Joel was a little overwhelmed
when Judy marched to the front pew. He felt the
Priest was the only thing between them and God. They married
on September 22nd, 1995 at St. Charles Church in Bowman,
ND. Joel loved to sing at church and he had a beautiful
voice.
Joel loved to push the limits; he took his Scout and
later his CJ 5 Jeep rock climbing/trailing in Deadwood, SD
and in the Badlands of ND. He would take section lines and
do off-roading whenever possible. Joel, Judy and their dogs
would take Sunday drives when the weather cooperated.
Joel never had children but anyone who knew him
knew his pets were his children. He would take his dog Dakota,
and later Shadow, 4-wheeling to the river. Joel was
very lonesome for his dog Dakota who died in 2008. They will
be reunited at the Rainbow Bridge.
Joel had a passion for old cars and loved bring them
back to life. He worked at a couple of body shops in the
Bismarck/Mandan area before landing his dream job at
Great 8 Auto. He would come home and say how lucky he
was to go to work every day doing something he really
loved.
Joel was a kid at heart; he loved the holidays, especially
Halloween. He would hurry home to get on a costume
to hand out treats. He would take his great-nieces and nephews
around our neighborhood. He will be always remembered
for his crow costume.
Whenever anything happened in life that Joel didn't
understand, he would always say, "I wonder who the lesson
is for, me or others, and me as the tool to be used by God,"
or "God's will be done and help us to accept His decision."
He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Judy, Mandan;
one foster daughter, Madison West; granddaughter, Kaylynn
West, Cheyenne, WY; his mother, Eva Jung, Mandan; two
brothers, Jeff (Candy) Jung, Bowman; and John (Janice) Jung,
Mandan; one sister, Joleen (Joel) Obrigewitch, Surprize, AZ;
and numerous nieces and nephews. Joel was preceded in
death by his father, Mike Jung.