Benjamin "Bennie" Knecht, 98, of Hurdsfield, ND passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at the St. Aloisius Long Term Care Center in Harvey. Funeral services will be at 2:00 pm Saturday January 23 at the Chaseley United Methodist Church, Chaseley, ND. Burial will be in the Goodrich City Cemetery, Goodrich, ND. Visitation will be Friday Jan. 22nd from 2:00pm – 7:00pm at the Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey, ND.

Bennie was born on September 30, 1917 in Goodrich, ND. He was the son of Emmanuel and Katherine (Moldenhauer) Knecht. He attended Goodrich Public School and graduated in the spring of 1938. As a young man, he herded over 1000 head of sheep one summer. The pay was $1.00 per day. He also hauled grain bundles one year and made enough money to pay for his clothes, graduation ring and announcements. Bennie married Albertina Hanneman on October 13, 1940 in Goodrich. They moved to a farm southwest of Hurdsfield and raised their family. In 1970 they moved to Chico, CA where he was maintenance supervisor for Montgomery Wards. They retired in 1980 and moved back to Hurdsfield. Bennie was the Mayor of Hurdsfield for several years. He also served on the Wells-Sheridan County Aging Council. In November 2012 Bennie moved to the St. Aloisius Long Term Care Center.

Bennie was a pilot. He helped many neighbors during the rough winters of the early 1950's by being an air ambulance, transporting them to the hospital; doing aerial drops of groceries to snowbound farmers; and transporting country school teachers to their schoolhouses and back home at the end of the school week. Bennie and Vearl Peak also aerial hunted fox and other predators that moved to this area during the flooding of the Garrison Dam.
Bennie loved God, his family and also traveling, fishing, and working in his garage. He could repair, fix or build most anything. He also enjoyed playing games and visiting with his many friends.

Bennie was member of the Hurdsfield Church of the Nazarene. He later became a member of the Chaseley United Methodist Church.

Survivors include two daughters, Myra Gohl of Argyle, TX; Connie (Donavon) Czech of Bowdon, ND; and one son, Mervyn (Tammy) Knecht of Hurdsfield, ND; five grandchildren – Karry Johnson; Tammy Fairbanks; Kenton Mindt; Kara Knecht and Kayla Knecht and five great grandchildren – Kaitlynn Johnson; Annie Johnson; Indah Grace Fairbanks; Elijah Fairbanks; and Cooper Mindt.
Preceding him in death were his parents; sister, Alice Weisz, and six brothers, Albert, Emmanuel, John, Edwin, Otto and Harry.