Rev. Daniel Gordon Faust

 To view the recording of the funeral service, for Rev. Daniel Faust, at Saint Barnabas Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, please click on the link below:

Dan started writing his obituary in 2021: "I was born on December 16, 1934 on the farm of my paternal grandparents that they had homesteaded about 65 years earlier. I was baptized by Pastor Walderman Gromstad, pastor of First Lutheran Church of Valley City. I was the eighth of nine children born to Marcus and Dagne Faust.

I attended grade school at Hobart #9. At that time, all of my older siblings attended the same school. Those who were old enough took high school classes by correspondence. After 8 years in Hobart School, I went to high school at College High in Valley City. I also took Confirmation instruction during my freshman and sophomore years, taught by Rev. Donald Ronning at First Lutheran. 

Through my high school years, I felt God's call to me was to go into the ministry, which I didn't want to do. I wanted to farm. I graduated from high school in the spring of 1952. That summer I attended an evangelistic crusade put on by most of the churches in Valley City, at which I decided I would do what I had long thought God wanted me to do, to go into the ministry. I attended the Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis for the winter quarter of 1952-53 and enrolled at Augsburg College in the Fall of 1953. I graduated from there four years later and enrolled in Augsburg Seminary that fall. I graduated from there in the spring of 1960 and was ordained in June of that year.

I married the love of my life, Beatrice Nash, on August 10, 1957. We were blessed with six children, all of whom are living at the time of this writing. We also have 12 grandchildren and one great grandchild.

My first call was to Gethsemane Lutheran Church of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. After three years, we moved to Preeceville, Saskatchewan. Four more years in Canada, and we decided to come back to the USA, to Drayton, North Dakota."

"Pastor of the soul and Tiller of the soil"

Dan and Bea's ministry in Drayton was followed by congregations in Hastings, Rutland, Dazey/Rogers, and Oriska, all in North Dakota. During about 10 of those years, Dan also raised hybrid sunflowers, which prompted the Valley City paper to refer to him as "pastor of the soul and tiller of the soil." 

Dan officially "retired" from the ministry in 2002. Dan and Bea then moved to Valley City, where they loved to host family and friends. Dan spent several years as chaplain at the Valley City Care Center and continued to serve "interim" calls in churches, with the final one lasting 14 years. He continued to preach until the Fall of 2022. Dan's ministry and community service were marked by creativity. He wrote and directed plays, planted flowers, led youth on trips, dramatized stories about birds in "Wington" and Bible characters, frequently utilized farming illustrations for sermons, and never stayed behind the pulpit or read his sermons to better engage with the congregation. Many people have commented on Pastor Dan's positive impact on their lives.

Dan’s faith inspired him to serve others throughout his life. During his retirement, he started a multi-year hobby of raising vegetables on his family farm, 10 miles from Valley City. He spent hours every day working his several-acre garden to donate vegetables to the Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo, starting a "Squash Hunger" initiative. Over 11 years, with assistance from community volunteers and the VCSU "Live to Learn, Learn to Live" program, he raised and donated over a million pounds of produce. Most years, they filled 2 to 3 semi trucks with squash and other vegetables for the food shelf. That was after many individuals and groups had already received private donations of vegetables. Dad and Bea also opened their home to people who needed a place to live and sought to give to anyone who needed financial help. Dan frequently offered his labor to keep a farm or business running. Dan's idea of business transactions was more about how to help someone else than how he could benefit. He also loved to give away his woodshop creations of nativity scenes, grandfather clocks, and cedar chests. Dan and Bea were prolific canners of tomatoes, peaches, and pickles until 2022, when they moved into assisted living. 

In March 2023, Dan and Bea moved to Glenn of Minnetonka to be near three of their children. Dan passed from this life on May 3, 2024, at the age of 89. 

Dan is survived by his wife of over 66 years, Beatrice (Nash) Faust, 6 children: Marco (Naomi) of Montpelier, VA, Timothy (Jan) of Park River, ND, Monica (Doug) Cox of Chaska, MN, Nathan (aka Nate) of Fargo, ND, Jonathan (Lisa) of Plymouth, MN, and Clinton (Audrey) of Plymouth, MN, 15 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, multiple nieces, nephews, cousins, other family, and friends.

Dan was preceded in death by his parents, siblings; James Faust, Marcia Robert, Jean Nash, Grace Beck, Dorothy Farland, Lois Swanson, Mary Nash, and Dave Faust, parents-in-law, all of his sisters and brothers-in-law, a grand daughter-in-law, and several nieces and nephews. He will be greatly missed.

TWO funeral services will be held: 

• St. Barnabas Lutheran Church, 15600 Old Rockford Rd, Plymouth, MN on Thursday, May 9^th with visitation at 10, service at 11, followed by lunch in the church hall.  
• Faith Lutheran, 309 4^th St NE, Valley City, North Dakota on Saturday, May 11^th with visitation at 10, service at 11, followed by lunch and burial at Hillside Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested by the family to go to one of these organizations Dan supported for many years:

• Global Health Ministries, 7831 Hickory Street NE, Fridley, MN 55432
• The Great Plains Food Bank, 1720 3^rd Ave N, Fargo, ND 58102