Declan Ermer Obituary, Death – After a 1.5 year struggle with pancreatic cancer, Ermer passed away on Saturday at the Sanford Hospice House in Fargo. Ermer was born on May 28, 1953, to John and Mary (Ferguson) Ermer in Langdon, North Dakota. Along with his three brothers, he was raised on the family farm northwest of Walhalla, North Dakota. Throughout Ermer ‘s life, the family farm in Walhalla remained a gem. Ermer attended the University of North Dakota following his graduation from Walhalla High School, where he earned a degree in business administration and made a number of lifelong friends. He also attended Walsh Hall. In 1975, he moved to Fargo, North Dakota, where he got his Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license and started his lifelong career in public accounting. He opened his own office in 1983, and from then till 2020 he worked alone.
Ermer cherished the ongoing working ties he developed with his customers over the years. Ermer participated actively in Fargo, North Dakota’s Church of Nativity. He was a longtime member of the proclaimer ministry and the finance council. Over the years, he also took an active part in the numerous events of the Knights of Columbus council at the Church. Ermer also enjoyed working out and making friends with many of the other members at the Fargo Moorhead YMCA, where he was a longtime member.
Ermer enjoyed “working out” at the family farm in the summer with his siblings, keeping the grass, trees, and weeds under control in addition to exercising at the “Y”. He frequently rode his bicycle around Fargo’s streets and bike lanes, and in the summer, he made a monthly journey to the Hawley Golf Club to hunt down stray golf balls. He spent many years going on annual deer hunting trips with his family and other friends, as well as going fishing at Lake of the Woods every year with friends from Nativity Church.
Ermer is survived by his sister Betty (Gordon) Harlow of Fargo, his brothers Fr. James Ermer and Kenneth (Julie) Ermer of Casselton, North Dakota, and nieces Lisa (Dan) Harlow and Dr. Tanya Harlow of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He is also survived by nephews Christopher (Doris) Harlow, Jason (Amanda) Ermer, and Jordan Ermer, as well as great nephews/nieces Eric, Amber John and Mary, his parents, as well as his grandparents Archibald and Elsie Ferguson and John and Anna Ermer, predeceased him. Prayer service will be held at Nativity Catholic Church in Fargo on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
Visitation will begin at 6:00 p.m. Friday at 10:00 a.m. at Nativity Catholic Church in Fargo, Mass of Christian Burial. Friday at 3:00 PM, St. Boniface Cemetery in Walhalla, ND, for burial. At all events, masks are necessary. For those who are unable to attend, Ermer’s services will be live webcast on the website of Boulger Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be donated to St. Boniface Catholic Church in Walhalla, North Dakota, or the Roger Maris Cancer Center.
