Walter "Glen" Bagley, 81, of Bowman, ND, died early Wednesday morning, May 21, 2014 at Southwest Healthcare in Bowman, ND. Memorial Services for Walter will be Friday, May 30, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. at the Bowman Lutheran Church in Bowman. The Reverend Dana Lockhart will officiate with burial following at the Bowman Cemetery, Bowman, ND.

Glen Bagley was born on October 15, 1932 in Gem Township in Bowman County near Bowman, ND, the son of Walter and Ellen (Gross) Bagley. He was reared on the family farm eight miles south of Bowman and attended rural Gem School. He graduated from Bowman High School in 1950. He enlisted in the Air Force in the spring of 1951. He was trained as a hydraulic specialist for the B36 Bomber in Wichita Falls, TX. He was stationed at the Rapid City Air Force Base (later renamed) where his group was involved in low altitude missions flying the B36 to the UK using the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean as a stop- over. During one mission, he was on board flying in a sister plane to the one carrying General Ellsworth. Fortunately, Glen's luck was better than General Ellsworth's, whose plane crashed into a mountain in Newfoundland. Glen received an honorary discharge at the end of his enlistment in 1954.

Using the benefits provided by the GI Bill, Glen was able to attend the Indian Technical College at Fort Wayne, IN, where he earned his civil engineering degree. His first job as a civil engineer was with the Bresana Construction Company in Rapid City, SD. There he helped build post offices in Minot, ND, Denver, CO, and Idaho. From there he went to work for Western Contracting Co. in Sioux City, IA, where he helped build airport runways in Michigan and Minnesota, various missile bases as well as dams and highways. He was usually involved in the bidding process, putting together the numbers to successfully complete the various projects. He was one of the early users of the Mac computer to do this work.

He married Marie Lightfoot on July 1, 1967, in Los Angeles, CA. They spent most of their life together in Sioux City where they lived until his retirement. There he raised a large garden and enjoyed Bible studies with Marie. They moved to Coon Rapids, MN, in November of 1992 to be closer to Marie's family. Glen spent several years taking very good care of Marie in her final years. After Marie's passing in 2001, Glen moved back to Bowman to be nearer his own family. True to his generous nature, he was a big help to his older sisters.

Glen was a kind hearted and humble person. Talking with him always left a person with an appreciation of his knowledge and background. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends who often got to hear his unique and humorous wit. He also enjoyed playing the lottery and we all got a laugh with him while he figured the odds for winning the "big one". He welcomed visitors and often shared stories of his life and travels. We were grateful that he moved back to Bowman and became part of our lives again. He will be missed by all who knew him.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Ellen Bagley, his sisters and brothers-in-law: Elaine (Vic Czywczynski and Clint Hofland), Marion Bagley, and Ferne (Donald) Freitag and (James Swanson). Survivors include his sisters, Joy Swanson of Buffalo, WY, and Delores Scally of Lake Mary, FL and one brother Dennis Bagley of Harvey, ND, along with Marie's daughters Sue (David) Koupal and Nancy (Mac) McGranahan. He is also survived by their familes and numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Following Glen's last wishes, some of his ashes will be spread on the family farm south of Bowman.