Gail Wangen

Gail Wangen, 69, of Harvey, ND died on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at a Bismarck hospital.

Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 24 at 2:00 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, Harvey. Burial will follow the service at Sunnyside Cemetery, Harvey, ND. Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at the First Lutheran Church followed by a 7 p.m. prayer service. Arrangements with Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey.

The service will be streamed live at: https://www.harveyfirstlutheran.com/                  The recorded funeral will be available to view after the service by clicking on the link. 

Gail (Thompson) Wangen passed away suddenly on Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Gail was born on June 23, 1957 to James and Jane (Keller) Thompson in Devils Lake, ND. She grew up in Devils Lake with her 4 sisters and 1 brother. She attended St. Joseph's Elementary School and St. Mary's High School, graduating in 1975. Gail attended Lake Region Junior College for one year before transferring to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. It was at the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity that she met Steve, the love of her life. They both graduated from college in 1979. Gail had a double major in Marketing and Office Management. When Steve got his first job in Springfield, MN, 440 miles away, she wasn't going to spend the winter apart, so she went to work and planned their wedding. They were married on October 5, 1979 at St Josephs Catholic Church in Devils Lake. The couple made their home in Springfield where they welcomed their first son, Jeffrey. After 5 years they decided to move to Langdon, ND to be closer to home. Their second son, Kevin was born in Langdon. Gail loved being a stay at home mom with her boys. In 1990, Steve accepted a job at the First State Bank of Harvey. Their third son, David was born in Harvey. When the boys were all in school, Gail started working at HAV-IT Services. She enjoyed getting to know the clients and interacting with them. In 2008, Gail went to work at Gooseneck John Deere Implement as a sales administrator. She liked getting to know her farm customers and learning about agriculture. Gail and Steve retired in 2022 and they started working on their bucket list. They were able to do some traveling, taking trips to Arizona, the National Parks of Utah, Minnesota North Shore, Italy, Branson and Florida. Gail loved taking care of her beautiful flowers in the summer. She was an avid reader and enjoyed her monthly book club meetings with the girls. Gail spent 15 years in the scouting program, serving 4 years as Cub Master and then moving to the Boy Scouts as Assistant Scout Leader for 11 years. She was very proud of her 10 Scouts that she encouraged, mentored and prodded to get their Eagle Scout rank. Gail was very active in her church, serving as head of the Alter Guild for 20 years. She loved singing in the church choir and she started quilting in her retirement. Gail liked golfing and it was always a good game if she hit it across the river. Playing bingo at the Eagles on burger night was also a tradition. She also loved spoiling her grandkids. She was so excited when she had granddaughters and finally got to buy girl stuff.

Gail is survived by her husband, Steve of 47 years, sons and daughters-in-law Jeff and Jasmine, Kevin and Jerilyn and son David, grandchildren Cullen, Gavin, Kieran, Reagan, Laila and Lorelei, mother Jane, siblings Jan Thompson, Scott Thompson and Sheri Ploium, Linda and Wayne Jensen, Lisa and Brian Roseen and Amy and Paul Thompson. In-laws Linda and Jason Winter, Marlene and Mark Deyle, Ken and Steph Wangen and Faye Wangen. She is also survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews. She is proceeded in death by her father James Thompson, father and mother-in-law Duane and Darlene Wangen and brother-in-law Duane “Butch” Wangen.

Gail was a very friendly, kind and giving person. Her last act of kindness was being an organ donor and giving the gift of life to an unknown friend.