Fessenden native joins Evans Funeral Home

After 30-plus years as a licensed funeral director, Jason Skiftun got his opportunity to come home.

Skiftun now works alongside owner/director Tom Sauby at Evans Funeral Home of Carrington and New Rockford, providing caring service to families of departed loved ones in their time of grief.

The rural Fessenden native, who grew up on a farm nearly 7 miles south of town, was in his seventh year working at a funeral home in Long Prairie, Minn., near Alexandria, when a chance meeting allowed for a change of plans.

"My wife, Annette, and I bought a house in Fessenden around five years ago, where we plan to retire," says Skiftun. "My brother-in-law got in contact with Fred Sauby, who was interested in seeing if I was looking for a job. The chance to move back here was one I couldn't pass up."

He started work at Evans on May 16, the latest (and most likely last) stop for a career that started in earnest after his graduation from FHS in 1980 and several years at NDSU.

"I had a friend in the business, and the field intrigued me," said Skiftun. He would enroll at the University of Minnesota, where he eventually earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mortuary Science in 1987.

While at "The U", he worked as a night attendant for a home in St. Paul. Following an internship in Fertile, Minn., he worked for Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home in Fargo, Eddy Funeral Home in Jamestown and in Long Prairie.

"I have quite a bit of experience working with Fred when I was at Eddy, so I know the family quite well," he said. "Tom's a great guy to work for."

Skiftun says the mission of his work is to help families through the loss of a loved one, and to assist those families through decisions to help honor them and go through the grieving process.

He and Annette have a daughter, Martha, in Fargo. His mother, Charlotte, lives in Carrington, and sister, Gina, still lives on the Fessenden farm.