Lyle Knudsen

Lyle Knudsen, 81, of Bainville, Mont., passed away on Thursday, May 5, 2022, at the Billings Clinic in Billings, Mont. Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home of Williston, N.D., is assisting the family. Friends may sign the register and give their condolences at www.fulkersons.com.

Lyle’s funeral service will be held on Sunday, May 15, 2022, at 2 p.m. (MST) at the Bainville School in Bainville, Mont. Pastor Lane Vannatta will officiate. Lyle will be laid to rest in Bainville Cemetery in Bainville, Mont. Visitation will be held at the Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home Chapel in Williston on Friday, May 13, 2022, from 12 to 4 p.m. (CST) and one hour prior to the service time on Sunday.

The funeral service will be livestreamed. You can view Lyle’s service directly on his obituary page on Fulkerson Stevenson’s website at www. fulkersons.com.

Lyle Hartvig Knudsen was born on Feb. 20, 1941, to Hartvig and Hazel Knudsen. His father passed away when Lyle was just five years old. He was raised on the family farm just north of Bainville along with his siblings Gerald, Wayne, Naoma, Beulah and Orabelle. Faith and family helped them through those tough times.

Lyle attended Bainville School and graduated in 1959. After high school, he worked as a farmhand and, in 1961, his sister Beulah introduced him to a coworker named Mary Madson. They were a perfect match and, in 1962, they were married in Ronan, Mont. They farmed north of Lanark and started a family. In that same year, Lyle joined the Montana National Guard. He was honorably discharged in 1968 with the rank of E-5. He proved to be a good role model as his three boys all joined the National Guard when they got older. In 1970, Lyle moved his family to Ronan, Mont., where he worked as a shop foreman for a Chrysler dealership.

Eastern Montana called them back to Bainville in the mid ‘70s where Lyle started Knudsen Repair Center where the Welcome Stop is presently located. Lyle decided to get into the oil business in the ‘80s and started Knudsen Contract Pumping. Along with his sons, Lyle worked many years in the oilfield and also worked as a school bus mechanic and bus driver for the Bainville School. Lyle was mechanically minded and because of that