Steve Brittner, 93, Minot and formerly of Bowman, died on Sunday, October 11, 2009 in his home.

Steve Brittner was born on October 31, 1915, near Richardton, ND, to Stephan and Mary Brittner. As a child, he lived near Richardton and Taylor, ND with his parents and several brothers and sisters. Later, most of the family moved to a ranch in the Badlands north of Marmarth, ND. Steve went to live with his older sister and brother-in-law in the Mineral Springs area of ND.

Steve was 14 years old when he graduated from the 8th grade at Mineral Springs School. He loved horses and any kind of work that could be done with horses, so he was soon earning a living working on cattle ranches and herding sheep. During the 1930\'s he worked for various ranchers who took him in as a member of their families. He was working for a family south of Bowman, ND when he met Grace Oberfoell, the pretty, young teacher at Lone Tree School, in the fall of 1940. They enjoyed going to dances and visiting with neighbors until their courtship was interrupted by World War II.

Steve entered the Army Air Corps in April of 1942. He was soon sent overseas to France with the 31st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron of the Army Air Corps. General Patton personally chose this squadron, for his own, and they were awarded medals for their excellent work.

While Steve was on furlough from the Army, he and Grace were married on May 8, 1943. After the War, they moved to a farm north of Bowman and later to Buffalo Springs, where they raised their three daughters. During this time, Steve worked as a rural mail carrier from Buffalo Springs and from Bowman. For thirty years, from 1947 to 1977, farm and ranch families along his long route depended on him to deliver their mail in any kind of weather. They were his neighbors and friends, who would never let him down, so he always did his best for them.

Steve enjoyed nature, animals, birds, gardening and reading. Most of all, he loved raising his three daughters. He passed on his love for horses to his daughters and enjoyed raising and training horses for them to ride. He also had fun entertaining his family with his favorite old cowboy songs and stories. One of his favorites was the song about the Strawberry Roan that no one could ride. He had his own story about a horse like that. As a young man, one of the families he worked for had a strawberry roan horse with a reputation for being an "outlaw." The owner and several other riders couldn\'t make him behave. They didn\'t think he was worth keeping because they couldn\'t use him for work. Then Steve tried him out. He was always careful not to break a horse\'s spirit, so when he found out he was able to stay on the horse, he just let him go on bucking until he got it out of his system. Then that Strawberry Roan was ready to cooperate and put in a good day\'s work.

In later years, Steve and Grace moved to Minot, ND to be near Linda and her son, Jesse. Dorothy and her daughter, Holly, came from Oregon to visit many times. He was a wonderful Grandpa, and a wonderful Dad.

Steve is survived by his wife, Grace Brittner, of Minot, ND; daughters, Dorothy Brittner, of McMinnville, OR and Linda Watson of Minot, ND; grandson, Jesse Watson, of Minot, ND; granddaughter, Holly (Ray) Roecker of McMinnville, OR; three great-grandchildren, Nathan, Caleb, and Kaylin Roecker; and many wonderful friends and relatives.

He was preceded in death by his parents, daughter, Susie, and his brothers and sisters.

Funeral service: Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in Vincent United Methodist Church, Minot.
Interment: Friday, October 16, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. in North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.
Visitation: Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.
Memorials are preferred to an organization of the donor's choice.