Ethel Tishmack

Ethel June (Sardeson) Tishmack,91, of Mandan, quietly passed away on May 31, 2021, at her home as she had wished.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Monday, June 7, 2021, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Mandan, ND. Burial will be at Mandan Union Cemetery.

Visitation will be held Sunday, June 6, 2021, from 5:00-7:00 PM at Weigel Funeral Home, Mandan, with a Rosary/Parish Vigil at 7:00 PM. Visitation will continue at the church one hour prior to the service on Monday.

Ethel was born June 15, 1929, to Philip and Estella Jerabek Sardeson.  They lived in the Freda area and Ethel attended the Freda School.  She graduated from Mandan High School.

Ethel met Peter R. Tishmack from Raleigh during her high school years, and they were married on May 26, 1947, at St. Gertrude’s Catholic Church. They made their home on the original Rheinhold Tishmack homestead.  They had four children: Diane Estelle, Blaine, Marion, and Gladys.

During the farming years, Ethel became active in local social clubs, especially as a 4-H Leader and Homemakers Club.  She later formed the Flasher Quilters Club with Florence Harsche while developing her talents into becoming a master quilter.  She admitted to dreaming about quilt designs and shadowing techniques during her sleep time.  Ethel stitched more than 300 quilts during her sewing career.

In addition to teaching many quilting classes, Ethel displayed her hand and machine sewn quilts to open and invitation-only events.  Recently, Capitol Quilters of Bismarck honored Ethel as a Charter member and for her 40 years of loyal membership by displaying some of her quilts in the Heritage Center.

When Pete and Ethel retired to Mandan, their hobbies expanded to collecting antiques that grew into a consignment space at Antiques on Main for over 30 years.  Their various travels across the country became a delightful way to scout out new treasures, with Ethel honing in on unique sewing art.   Her delight in sewing quilts continued to her final days, hand-basting a quilt’s binding.

Ethel filled her more recent years with many social activities, especially playing cards with canasta and Bonko groups, a Birthday Club, and Mandan Golden Age Senior Center.  Ethel’s feisty sense of humor endeared her to many.  Ethel always looked forward to the annual Harsche-Tishmack-Gross reunion picnics every July.

Her family extends a huge thank you to friends and family who have supported Ethel through the years.

Ethel is survived by her three daughters, Diane Estelle Tishmack of Mandan, Marion (Dale) Struckness of Minot, and Gladys Tishmack of Mandan; one son, Blaine (Cecelia) Tishmack of Mandan; three grandchildren, Norah Struckness, Mitchell, and Lynette Tishmack; three great-grandchildren, Zoe Struckness, Kira Bland, and Sadie Tishmack; sisters, Shirley (Schafer), Diane (Heidrich), Dorothy (Kobs), and Sally (Ritz) from the surrounding area; many nieces and nephews.

Ethel was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Pete; siblings, Alice (Schmidt), Phillip, Raymond, Delbert,and Myra (Grimm).