R. Warren Pierson, MD, 83, Minot, died Sunday, April 18, 2010, in a Minot hospital.

Longtime Minot physician and farmer. Ralph Warren Pierson was born and raised in York, ND. He attended school on the home farm until his graduation from Maddock ATHS. In 1950, he graduated from Concordia College - Moorhead with a pre-med major. He attended medical school at UND and at the University of Illinois in Chicago, where he met his future wife.

He married Wilma J. Kvenild in 1954. Together they had five children, raising four of them to adulthood with a strong sense of family loyalty and a love of learning.

He and Wilma shared many adventures. After their wedding, the couple moved to Los Angeles, CA to begin Warren's internship. They also lived in Bismarck, ND where they made lifelong friends. They returned to California for Warren's stint in the Navy aboard the USS Toledo as a Naval officer. He traveled extensively overseas before returning to the Quain Ramstad Clinic in Bismarck, ND. He continued his service to his country in the Naval Reserve.

Warren felt a calling to become a missionary, and thus began the couples' biggest adventure. With round-the-world plane tickets, they began their journey to Ethiopia, Africa to serve four years as medical missionaries for the American Lutheran Church with their three daughters. On the way, they visited relatives and toured Norway. Warren treated hundreds of patients including delivering his youngest son, Steve while in Selek Leka, Ethiopia. On the return trip they again used the tickets taking their young family through India, SE Asia, and Japan on their way home to the U.S.

Upon returning from Africa, Warren decided to expand his medical expertise to surgery. They moved to Seattle so he could begin his surgical residency. After four years Warren moved his family to ND in a return to his roots. They settled in Minot where Warren enjoyed years of working with his beloved patients at Medical Arts Clinic and in his private practice.

After retiring from medicine at age 70, he returned to the farm in rural York, ND. At that time he returned to the land his grandparents homesteaded more than a century ago to begin his second career as a farmer. Over his lifetime Warren planted not only crops but also thousands of trees, vegetables and flowers. Farming was always in his blood.

He was a lifelong learner and never tired of sharing his knowledge of history, genealogy, and Scandinavia. He amassed countless hours of time and energy volunteering at his church, the Minot Symphony, Concordia College - Moorhead, the ND Chapter of the American Cancer Society, and the list goes on. He freely indulged his sweet tooth and his grandchildren. His delightful sense of humor surprised many as he was so often serious about his causes.

Warren had a pioneering spirit and was happiest on his farm in rural York, ND. He was a loyal son of ND and a proud descendant of Norwegian and Swedish immigrants. His love of the land was surpassed only by his love of family. Warren was a man of faith, strength, and integrity. He led by example and never backed down from a job, regardless of how daunting it may have seemed.

Surviving family includes his wife, Wilma, daughters, Rosemary, Susan (Clay Ellingson), and Karoline, and son Steve (Caroline); grandchildren, Anna Marie Finck, Maria and Glen Ellingson, Stephen Pierson Neis, and Isabel and Jillian Alder Pierson, sister, Vivian Hobby, and many other relatives here and in Norway.

Preceded in death by son David, grandson Jesse Gabriel Pierson, parents Ralph and Evangeline (Sandven) Pierson, sister Marian Dirkzwager, and brother Orville Pierson.

Funeral Service: Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, Minot, ND
Interment: Friday, April 23, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Petri Lutheran Cemetery, rural York, ND
Visitation: Wednesday, April 21, 2010, from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot, ND.
In lieu of flowers and plants, memorials preferred to Global Health Ministries, First Lutheran Church, or the Minot Symphony.