6/24/2013:
Long-time Killdeer Mountains Round-up Rodeo supporter, Robert “Bob” Sand, died on tomorrow’s date three years ago. Bob was active with the rodeo in many capacities over the years, and he and his wife, Edna, served as Grand Marshals for the 2008 rodeo.
Bob Sand was born on June 6, 1919, in a homestead shack on the east fork of Wolf Creek near Wolf Point, Montana. The youngest of four children, Bob’s mother Carla died when he was just one year old. He went to live with his paternal grandparents, returning to the Wolf Point homestead with his father and other siblings when he was eight. He dropped out of school to herd sheep and later returned to Wolf Point High School, graduating in 1939.
Bob married Edna Helen Nupen in 1942 in Grand Forks, and they had four children. He earned an undergraduate degree from UND in May 1943 and soon joined the U.S. Army. As an infantry platoon leader in the European Theater during World War II, he received a Purple Heart and Cluster and a Bronze Star for heroic achievement in combat. After he was injured in battle, Sand returned to the U.S. to recuperate at a military hospital in Colorado Springs.
After his military discharge, Bob taught military science at South Dakota State University. He earned a master’s degree from UND in 1952 and worked as a social worker. Bob later retired as Chief U.S. Probation Officer, District of North Dakota. After retirement, the couple built a summer cabin in the Killdeer Mountains, where they spent their summers.
A lifelong horseman, Bob served as a trustee with the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame from its beginning, and the couple was involved with several groups … the Bismarck Horse Club, 50 Years in the Saddle, DeMores Riders and Badlands Trail Riders.
He was active in musical and church groups and in the development of the Dunn County Historical Museum. He could often be found writing letters to newspapers and local and state leaders about issues of concern.
Bob continues to be remembered for his dedication to the Killdeer Mountains Round-up Rodeo and the Killdeer community.
Dakota Datebook written by Cathy A. Langemo, WritePlus Inc.
Sources:
ND Cowboy Hall of Fame Cowboy Chronicle, November 2010
Dunn County Herald, Killdeer, July 2, 2010