Luke Allan Walther

Luke Walther, 19, of Mandan, passed away Friday, November 1, 2024.  

Funeral services will be held at 1 P.M. on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 502 N. 4th St., Bismarck. 

Visitation will be held from 5-7 P.M. on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at Weigel Funeral Home, 309 4th Ave NW, Mandan, with a prayer service beginning at 7 P.M.

Luke was the firstborn child of Jesse and Tanya (Bullinger) Walther. He was the happiest and cutest blue-eyed, blonde-haired boy. In April 2007, he became a big brother to Tyler. Tyler looked up to his big brother and wanted to do everything that Luke was doing.

At a young age, Luke became his family’s forever cowboy. He lived in cowboy boots, Wrangler jeans, and a cowboy or trucker hat. When they were younger, Luke and Tyler played with their farm animals pretending to be ranchers, and built many, many Lego sets together. They also played board games and video games together, Luke was always the super competitive, bossy big brother. Luke’s favorite video games were Red Dead and Farming Simulator where he did all the farming he wanted; he could play for hours due to his love for farming and ranching. 

Luke was raised and educated in Mandan. He attended Lewis & Clark Elementary, Red Trail Elementary, Mandan Middle School, and graduated from Mandan High School in 2023. In middle school, Luke played percussion in band, he loved marching in the parades, and attended band camp at the International Peace Gardens for two summers. In eighth grade, he joined the Mandan Braves Football team and earned the “Raise the Bar” Excellence Award given out at the end of the season. Luke was very proud of earning this award. He played football in high school and loved being part of a team and going on road trips to the away games.

During his sophomore year of high school, Luke found his passion and life career in welding class. During his junior and senior years, he had welding for two periods a day. He often told his mom that welding class was his favorite class and the sole reason he looked forward to going to school. Mr. Stephen Kessler was Luke’s favorite teacher and the family would like to thank him for nurturing Luke’s passion for welding. Luke was excited to tour the new high school and see the welding rooms and check-in with Mr. Kessler. After high school, Luke attended Lynnes Welding School in Bismarck. He completed the program in December of 2023.

The day that Luke turned 16, he applied at Runnings in Mandan. He liked working here because he loved being around anything that related to agriculture. He also started working at Mandan Auto Glass the summer of his senior year and enjoyed joking around with his Great-Uncle Randy and second-cousin Justin. Towards the end of his senior year, he went to work for L & H Manufacturing in Mandan. In April of this year, he started working for a rancher where he did a little bit of everything relating to the farm life that he desired for him and his future family. Luke was the most dedicated, loyal, and hard-working young man. Each time he would tell his boss he was leaving to start a different job, they would say, “No, Luke you can’t leave.” Luke’s final job was his “best fit” job. It was a job that he truly loved due to his passion of welding and being an everyday rancher.

Luke’s mom was his go to person when he needed help with his schoolwork. Since she’s a teacher, he thought she knew everything! Mom and Luke created a special bond where he could tell her anything. Mom would stay up late waiting for him to come home once he started driving, and they would have deep conversations about life and talk about his future. Once Luke moved out, she would call him just to chat and see how his week was going. Mom never wanted to say good-bye, she could’ve talked all night, it was the highlight of her week, she will deeply miss these conversations. Dad was Luke’s fixer of all things. If it was broke, dad could always fix it. Dad and Luke spent many hours working on Luke’s trucks. Dad will miss the bonding time and teaching Luke to love “Ford” vehicles as much as he does. Luke was Tyler’s role model. Tyler will miss playing pool with Luke and just hanging out with him and getting picked on by his older brother.

When Luke and Tyler were growing up, they would visit their Great Aunt Sharon’s farm with their Grandma Vickie. They would play on the treehouse and learn life lessons from Marty Beard. Grandpa Les owns a horse farm where Luke would help him and Scotty with feeding, moving horses, and the general upkeep of farming. Luke fell even more in love with the farm life while he was there. He had high hopes to take over the horse farm someday; he was eager to break “Hank” his horse and start riding him. Luke was Grandma Jolene’s first grandkid. They had a very special bond that will be treasured forever in his Grandma’s heart. She was the first grandparent to hold Luke after he was born, a memory that she will never forget. Grandpa Marvin spent time with Luke by taking him and Tyler to demolition derbys and out for breakfast at Dakota Farms or the Mandan Truckstop. Luke brought much joy and laughter to all his grandparents, including his two great-grandmas. Luke’s aunts, uncles, and cousins were also a special part of his life. His aunts and uncles will miss his words of wisdom, sarcastic comments, and funny personality. He was close in age to his cousins, Harleigh, Jonah, and Lexi with whom he had many fun adventures with. His younger cousins looked up to him and couldn’t wait for him to spend time with them and play games with them.

Luke’s Junior year of high school, he met his soulmate and fiancée, Tybee Brobst. From the moment they met, they were inseparable. After Luke graduated from high school, they moved in together. While Luke was still in school, they got their first dog Wrangler. Luke loved to wrestle Wrangler but most of all, he loved to cuddle him. He always made sure Wrangler had a portion of his side of the bed and his pillow. A year later, Scout joined the family. He quickly grew to love both dogs equally, causing him to surrender an even larger share of the bed. Luke always made sure both dogs were well cared for. Over the two years Luke and Tybee were together, they loved going on adventures, whether it was traveling long distances, a spontaneous road trip, or spending the day at his grandpa’s farm. Luke and Tybee loved to spend time with family, go to the lake, spend the day fishing, or just spend time together binge-watching shows. Their greatest adventure was finding out they were expecting. Luke was so excited to become a dad. The excitement grew when they found out it was a baby boy. Luke was so excited to welcome his little boy into the world, so he could teach him all about trucks, horses, welding, and duck hunting. Luke’s memory will forever be instilled in his son’s life. His son is lucky to have Luke as his father, but also a beautiful guardian angel. 

Luke’s favorite stores were Boot Barn and Runnings. If he had money in his account, he had money to spend! Luke collected cowboy and trucker hats, belt buckles, flags, and knives; no amount was ever too many in Luke’s eyes! He loved Ford trucks and loud music; he was obsessed with owning a Diesel truck someday. He was always searching on BismanOnline and sending his dad the trucks he wanted to buy or thought dad should buy for him! He recently started hunting with Tybee’s dad, Scott and her brother, Jayden. He loved this new adventure and talked about coyote hunting in the near future.

In the summers, Luke’s family had season tickets to the Bismarck Larks. Luke enjoyed buying the game-worn jerseys, spending quality time with his family, and inviting Tybee to her first Larks game. Summertime was also a time for Luke’s family to enjoy time on their pontoon, go fishing, four-wheeling, and ride the John Deere around the yard just because Luke thought it was fun! In 2013, Luke and his family took their first Disney trip to Disney World. They instantly became a “Disney” family. They traveled to Disney World several times and Luke chose to go to Disneyland for his senior trip, creating memories  

for his family to cherish. In April 2024, the Walther family traveled to Hawaii to celebrate his Grandparents’ 50th anniversary. This was an unforgettable vacation for the family.

A Walther family tradition is to gather at his grandparents house on Friday nights. This was started when Luke was a baby and continues to this day. Unless Luke was working, he was there with his family. A lot of memories have been created including bringing Tybee and their dogs to join the family dinners. Grandma Vickie would make enough food so there were leftovers to send home with the family and a dessert or two. The family will eat spaghetti, beer cheese soup, and wagon wheels, to honor and remember you, and wish you were there. Luke also has a family dog named Molly at his grandparents house that will be watching out the window waiting for him to arrive.

Luke lived life in the fast lane. Since he was a little boy, there was no slowing him down. If Luke wanted something or needed something, it was now. There was no such thing as tomorrow or “it can wait.” He was a persistent, “strong-willed” boy who grew into a hard-working man. His parents are so proud of the young man he was growing into. Luke lived hard and played hard in his short 19 years of life. His parents are forever heartbroken over the loss of their beloved son. All of Luke’s family will miss him dearly, there are no words to express their deep sadness; they are struggling to find the strength to face their new reality of life without their Luke. Please continue to share stories with the family and keep Luke’s legacy alive for his baby boy so he will learn what a great father he has.

Luke will be deeply missed by his loving parents, Jesse and Tanya Walther, younger brother Tyler, and fiancée Tybee Brobst. His grandparents, Les and Vickie Walther, Marvin Bullinger (special friend Shirley Bauer), Jolene and Jimmie Clark. Great-grandmas, Anna Berger and Lucille Bullinger. He will remain in the hearts of his aunts and uncles: Chad Walther, Jeremy and Jillian Bullinger, and Brandon and Jessica Kok, Luke’s cousins: Harleigh (Kyle), Jonah, Alexis, Olivia, Hannah, Brecken, Hailey, Jace, and Tavin. In addition, Tybee’s family and future in-laws, Ivy and Scott Brobst, Jayden (Ellie McElvaney) Brobst, Blakely and Nick Kantor, Hannah (Jaron) Hakanson and Wrenley, and Ken and Bonnie Petryszyn. Luke also leaves behind a large extended family; too numerous to mention, they will forever hold memories of him close to their heart.

Luke was preceded in death by his great grandparents, Martin and Thelma Buchert, Emanuel and Martha Walther, Ralph Bullinger, and Peter Berger. 

 Luke never left his family without a hug and an “I Love You,” for each family member he was surrounded by. If the family had only known this would be the last hug, we wouldn’t have let go.