Bernard Altenburg

Dr. Bernard M. Altenburg entered his eternal life on June 20, 2025, surrounded by family, friends, and the compassionate care of Hospice during a weeklong stay at SMP St. Catherine South in Fargo.

Bernie was born on September 30, 1937, in Bismarck, North Dakota to Martin and Bernice (Wigton) Altenburg. In his youth, he spent his summers helping on family farms around New Salem. He moved with his family to Fargo in 1951 and was confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church the same year. He graduated from Fargo Central High School in 1955. He went on to attend North Dakota State University graduating with a B.S. majoring in Mathematics in 1961. While at NDSU he was active in Air Force ROTC, student radio, and was a member of the ATO fraternity.

Bernie joined the North Dakota Air National Guard in 1954. He attended flight school as an air cadet and earned his pilot wings in 1958. Among the many aircraft he flew were the T-33, F-86, C-47, KC-97, F-101, and the F-4. In 1987, he celebrated his military retirement with the 119th Fighter Wing “Happy Hooligans” at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Bernie married his high school sweetheart, Lois Ivers, at First Lutheran Church Fargo in 1959. They both went on to attend the University of North Dakota Medical School. He earned his M.D. from Marquette University, Milwaukee. Dr. Altenburg interned at St. Luke’s Hospital, Fargo, and completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and at the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. While at Mayo he earned his M.S. in Anesthesiology from the University of Minnesota, researching barbiturate tolerance. Dr. Altenburg started practice as an anesthesiologist at Fargo Clinic and St. Luke’s Hospital in 1969 where he practiced medicine until his retirement from then MeritCare in 1999. During this time, he co-authored research articles on thoracic surgery and established a strong nurse anesthetist training program. He continued to offer his medical services part time at several clinics in the Fargo area until 2009.

Starting in 1971, he spent many weekends working on his cabin at Bad Medicine Lake. There he spent his time building, enjoying nature, visiting his Guard buddies, Scuba diving, and touring the lake by boat. He was a member of the First Lutheran Church Cathedral Choir and joined them on their singing tours in Norway, Yugoslavia, Russia, and New York City. His other passions included hunting, benchrest rifle marksmanship, precision machining, astronomy, genealogy, cowboy action shooting, and wood turning. He chased eclipses around the world. These interests along with his military service made him a world traveler visiting dozens of countries and five continents. Among the many local organizations he enjoyed were the Swedish Cultural Heritage Society of the Red River Valley and the FM Astronomy Club. Along with Lois, he hosted, sponsored, supported, or fostered several young people in their lives and education at NDSU, Concordia College, and MSU from Vietnam, France, Russia, Iran, and Zimbabwe.

He is survived by his wife of sixty-six years, Lois; daughter, Olivia; sons, Kent (Krisy), Karl (Sarah), Fargo, Mark (Sarah Berquam), Twin Valley, Minnesota; brother, John (Sue) in Tampa, Florida; ten grandchildren, Adam, Kurt (Justina), Bjorn (Gwen Chea), Ingrid (Jordan Krauter), Kaspari (Bradley) Hoffman, Martin, Lily, Amy, Sophia, and John; and five great-grandchildren, Augustus, Lazuli, Viennavie, Evren, and Noraya. He was preceded in death by his parents.