Surrounded by his family, Paul Francis Wiese, age 68, passed away unexpectedly at the Fairview University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis on May 17th due to complications of his lung cancer surgery.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 AM Tuesday, May 23, at Spirit of Life Catholic Church in Mandan with Monsignor Chad Gion as celebrant. Interment will follow in the Mandan Union Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Monday at Weigel Funeral Home in Mandan followed by a 7:00 PM Prayer Service.

Paul was the fifth of eight children born to Frank & Mary Wiese of Washburn ND, on April 12, 1949. Though barely a teenager, he worked odd jobs at Floyd's Standard and other local merchants. Paul could often be found with his dog setting trap lines near the river, often times camping overnight in a little pup tent.

The grease monkey that he was, he continued to use his talents and worked for Jundt's Westland in Minot ND. It was there that his future bride, Brenda Bauer, almost ran him over as she was barreling in to fill the tank of her VW Beetle. Paul said it was out of fear that he asked her out, and the rest is history.

Paul said many times that his greatest accomplishment was his family. Paul and Brenda were blessed with four children. As their wonderful children grew and were married, the family of six expanded by leaps and bounds with the addition of 11 beautiful grandchildren.

Paul was a self-taught jack-of-all-trades. He worked a variety of jobs throughout his life. He drove a beer truck for Premium Beverages and was a heavy equipment mechanic for Clarimont Construction in Bismarck. He went on to start several businesses, the last of them being a family owned underground utility contracting company he started in 1981, Chief Construction Inc. He invented many ingenious contracting tools that helped make his company successful. He looked into patenting a number of them but with all the red tape and no spare time, it didn't happen. At the time of his death, he was still trying to convince himself to semi-retire, but didn't want to slow down.

His favorite place was Crooked Lake, a place where the family loved to gather to work and play. Fishing, grilling, playing in the water were all things the family enjoyed while Paul tinkered on various projects and improvements. The "cabin" was a very special place to him and all his hard work at making it so beautiful will be treasured by the family always.

To know Paul was to love him, whether family, friend, or acquaintance. Paul always wore a smile and was ready and willing to help anyone at any time. He will be lovingly remembered by all who knew him and will be greatly missed.

Paul is survived by his loving family; his wife Brenda Wiese; son Sean (Christine) and their children Zach, Jackson, Kaia, and Kamryn; son Scott (Lori) and their children Tristan and Tucker; daughter Stacy Wilz (Mike) and their children Gentry Block, Piper, and Reeve; daughter Steffany Flakker (Chris) and their son Corin. He is also survived by his former son-in-law, Wayne Block; sisters-in-law, Carla Iszler (Darryl) and Sandy Kenyon (Dave); along with his brothers Dick, Jim (Jan), Jerry (Rene), Mark (Betty), and sister Agnes (Todd) and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother Eddie; sister MaryAnn Clark (John); mother-in-law Eunice Bradford and her husband Milton; father-in-law Irvin Bauer and his wife Dolores; his granddaughter Aspyn Block; and many dear aunts and uncles.