Born ‎9 Jan 1919 Crosby, Divide, North Dakota, died ‎26 Feb 2012 Glouster, Athens County, Ohio Event Description: Saint Patricks Cemetery, Crosby, North Dakota‎, age 93 years
Walter Semingson, 93, passed away Feb. 26, 2012, at Smoke Rise Ranch , Glouster, Ohio.

"Walt" was born Jan. 9, 1919, in Crosby, N.D., to Samuel and Anna (Torpen) Semingson. He was a 1939 graduate of Divide County High School in Crosby; studied at the Chicago School of Osteopathic and Physical Fitness; was a member of the Moose Lodge in Crosby; American Quarter Horse Association, Arizona Cutting Horse Association, and Eastern Oregon Mavericks Association; and a member of the former National Farmers O rganization.

At the request of his father, Walt returned to Crosby in 1942 from California where he had been working as a physical therapist to take ove r the family farm. In 1944, he married Helen Irene Elliott from Estevan, Sask, Canada, and they settled in Crosby. He farmed in Crosby for more than 35 years. In 1961, he added a cattle ranch in LaGrande, Ore., to his holdings, moved his family there and commuted between the farm and the ranch. Along the way he bought and sold ranches in Idaho and Nebraska. Walt continued to farm and ranch until 1976 when he retired to Arizona.

In the 1980s he developed Palmas del Sol, a 465-unit adult living community in Mesa, Ariz., where he and his wife Helen resided. Subsequently, he acquired property in Ohio, where he established Smoke Rise Ranch Resort, now recognized by RFDTV's Best of America by Horseback as "one of the premier horseback riding places in America."

An Ohio newspaper article published in 2008 in celebration of his 89th birthday described him as "tall in the saddle." The reporter observed, "On a horse, Semingson is on top of the world. The horse moves with Semingson's every inclination. With the gentle urging of the reins, a soft prod of a boot heel, Semingson guides the animal as if the horse can hear his thoughts."

"There's a thrill when a horse performs what you will it to do," Semingson said. "It takes time and patience."

Throughout his lifetime, Walt's knowledge of horses has served him well. Over the years he bred and trained several AQHA championship quarter horses.

Walt also is well-known for training cutting horses, a riding discipline especially designed for separating cattle from the rest of the herd .

He was the North Dakota State Champion in 1982, and the South Saskatchewan State Champion in 1984. At the age of 85, he took second in the Arizona Cutting Horse Championships.

Above all, Walt loved his family. Surviving are his wife of 67 years, Helen Elliott Semingson; children Dianne (Craig Lewis) Semingson of Philadelphia, Pa., Brent Semingson, Lynn Semingson, and Mark Semings on of Glouster; grandchildren Colt Semingson of Glouster, Ohio, and Kyle Semingson of Crosby, N.D., (Brent); Janet Lewis of Philadelphia, Pa ., and Craig Robert (Leslie) Lewis of Philadelphia, Pa.; a sister, Muriel Pendergrass of Seattle, Wash.; and several nieces and nephews, Toni Weaver of Olympia, Wash., (Stella); Suzanne Whitacre, Seattle, Wash., (Ethel); Samuel Pendergrass, Mooresville, N.C.; Robert Pendergrass , Canton, Ohio; Nancy P. Bennett and Patricia Pendergrass, Seattle, Wash. (Muriel); and Donald Wood, Papillion, Neb. (Victor).

Walter was preceded in death by his parents; brothers and sisters Victor, Adelaide, Ruth, Stella and Ethel; and nephew, Eugene.

Memorial services were held in Ohio and in North Dakota at a later date.

Born ‎1920 Denver, Colorado
Jean is 18 when she marries Walter Semingson the end of December 1938 in Montana. In the 1940 census, the family is in Crosby, ND and Jean is 19 and listed as single. Walter's obituary says nothing about her, so the marriage must have been very brief.