Irwin Donald Bangen, 92

Erwin Donald Bangen, 92, of Hot Springs, walked into Heaven on Christmas Day 2024, surrounded by family, pure as the driven snow.

Erwin, the son of Helmer and Hannah Bangen, was born April 16, 1932, at the Bangen family farm in Climax, Minn. He was baptized into the Sand Hill Lutheran Church on June 12, 1932.

Erwin was a full-blood Norwegian who took pride in his heritage. He spoke only Norwegian until he went to elementary school. He continued throughout his life to speak Norwegian with his family and during many early morning phone calls with his good friend, Orville Bjorge.

Erwin’s family did not have a lot of money, but it wasn’t needed as the farm provided all the necessary essentials. He grew up working in the sugar beet fields, begrudgingly milking cows and many other chores on the farm.

He was interviewed 10 years ago saying, “They did not throw any part of a pig away, eating everything but the oink.”

In 1946, he graduated 8th grade from Polk County Elementary School and continued his education at the Northwest School of Agriculture until 1949. After school, he worked at the sugar beet plants, delivered beer and also worked on many local farms.

In January of 1953, Erwin was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, at which time a military typo caused the official spelling of his name to change to Irwin. He was stationed as a peacekeeper in Trieste, Italy. He ended his service with an honorable discharge and final ranking of Corporal E-4 in December 1954.

After the service, Irwin returned to Climax, Minn. Irwin and his best friend, Robert Neil, each bought an Indian motorcycle. The story is that they were known to outrun the cops in Crookston by cruising through the park archway.

Irwin married his first wife, Shirley Coauette, on Sept. 24, 1955. Irwin and Shirley had five children: Cheri, Cindy, Scotty, Connie and Craig.

Irwin and his brothers owned three bars in Crookston, Nielsville and Perley, Minn. One snowy night, he was leaving the bar in Crookston and drove home in reverse on Hwy. 2 for 20 miles because the forward gear went out of his transmission in his car.

He would say, “That’s the only way I was going to get home. You did what you had to do.”

In 1967, he packed up his family and moved to Great Falls to work for his brother-in-law, Bunny.  Not long after moving to Great Falls, he began working for Pepsi-Cola delivering pop to all the local watering holes.

He enjoyed taking his family back to the family farm to spend time with his parents, Helmer and Hannah. In December of 1970, Irwin and Shirley divorced and he later moved to Missoula in 1972.

Irwin continued to deliver Pepsi-Cola with “You are following Irv” on the back of his truck. In 1973, his delivery truck led him to Curley’s where he walked in and found the love of his life of 50 years, the bartender, Beverly Scott.

Irwin and Beverly married on Feb. 8, 1975. He gained two more children, Julie and Jon Scott. On Pearl Harbor Day of 1975, their son Jason was born to complete their family.

In 1977, Irwin, Beverly and Jason, moved to Hot Springs. They made their home in Hot Springs, and their door was always open to family, including Jo Ellen King who could often be found in Irwin’s arms and on a few occasions was mistaken for his daughter. He would just laugh and say, “No! She’s my sister- in-law.”

He started working in a post and pole yard, and also worked gathering Christmas trees with his father-in-law, Tom Jaques. In 1978, he started with the Sanders County Road Department, plowing snow and maintaining county roads. In December 1993, he retired from the county.

Irwin was an active and proud member of the Hot Springs community where he served many years on the town council and as a community volunteer at the Sanders County Fair and Homesteader Days. Irwin was a dedicated member of VFW Post #5159, Lone Prairie Springs, where he helped with fundraisers including the VFW Buddy Poppy program and the annual Homesteader Days gun raffle. He was also a member of the American Legion Post #129 in Paradise.

In 1994 the town elected Irwin as the Hot Springs Mayor, where he took his job marrying and burying seriously. There weren’t many perks of being the mayor, but he enjoyed filling in as the part-time police chief and taking his grandchildren for a joyride in the cop car with the lights on.

After four years of phone calls at all hours of the night, he ended his term as mayor. Then, Irwin was hired by his good friends, Todd and Beau Sanders, as the bartender at the Pioneer.

He was known for always being the bartender in a white shirt. His patrons were always coming in for a “short snort and a good story.” He had so much knowledge about the area he was asked to help with the new GPS address mapping project.

In 2005, he began working for the Hot Springs Refuse until his final retirement in 2018. His known dump gate fee was a cold one from his patrons, but he always supplied fruit snacks for the little tots visiting the dump.

No one was a stranger to Irwin! No matter where his cruising took him, he was honking his horn and shouting out “Smiley’s back in town.” His friends gravitated to him for his charismatic stories and sometimes needed wisdom with a cold beer.

He enjoyed his Thursday afternoons at the local watering holes with Pete and his cribbage dates with Tom. Deano and Irwin were always gambling on the Superbowl boards together with lots of luck. He looked forward to his frequent phone calls from his nephews Mike Bangen and Glen Bangen.

During the summers, you could always find Irwin weeding and watering his garden. He began planning his garden layout every January when seed catalogs came in the mail. A garden is not a garden unless it has strawberries, peas, radishes and Walla Walla sweets. In the spring, he would thin out his strawberries by giving strawberry starts to his gardening friends. He was sure to have enough rows of peas to keep his grandchildren happy.

Papa’s legacy will continue through his family. Papa Irv was always the sun of his circle. The gravity of his love kept all of us in close orbit to him and to each other. He pulled us in with his magnetic laughter, card and dice games and his irresistible mischievousness. He spoiled all of us with our favorite treats including mini M&Ms, ice cream, tootsie rolls and Swedish fish. He took us to the mountains for wood cutting and creek fishing for little brookies.

Papa effortlessly held a steady center for his family, and he made life brighter every day.

Irwin was preceded in death by his parents, Helmer and Hannah Bangen; siblings Mildred Gilstad, Ruby Broden, Fylies Roadhouse, Orlean “Corky” Bangen, Harold Bangen and Arlone Wokasch; and children Scotty Bangen and Cheri Padovese.

Irwin is survived by his beloved wife Beverly of Hot Springs; brother Roger (Marlys) Bangen of Wisconsin; children Cindy Gerardin, Connie Nelson and Craig Bangen of Pahrump, Nev., Julie (Bruce) White of Hot Springs, Jon Scott of Everett, Wash., and Jason (Michele) Bangen of Hot Springs; grandchildren Stephanie Padovese and Matthew Padovese of Las Vegas, Nev., Krystal Nelson and Brandon Nelson of Pahrump, Nev., Luke Scott and Scarlett Scott of Everett, Wash., Garrett Manning of Trout Creek, Mont., and Tara Key, Korey White, Devon (Mike) Holland, Jarod (Kiana) White, Hoyt Bangen and Oakly Bangen of Hot Springs; great-grandchildren Little David Padovese and Rocco Padovese of Las Vegas, Julia Key of Missoula, and Hollis Key and Cal White of Hot Springs; many nieces and nephews and too many friends to count.

“See you in church, quarter to eight, don’t be late.”

The service will be held on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, at 1 p.m. at the Lonepine Hall (52 Lonepine Road, Lonepine) with graveside Military Funeral Honors following at the Lonepine Cemetery. Following the services, a dinner and a “short snort” will be provided by the family at the hall. Please join the family to share stories and celebrate the life of Papa Irv. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Toys for Tots, PO Box 19524, Louisville, KY, 40259 or online Marine Toys for Tots – Further Year-Round Force For Good.