Herb was born October 11, 1964 in Valley City, N.D. to Dale & Carol (Cruff) Kiser. He attended grades K-2 in Sanborn, N.D. then moved with his family to Valley City, where he continued his education. After high school, he enlisted in the Army National Guard and served with them for 3 years until a serious knee injury caused him to be honorably discharged.
In April 1992, Herb married his best friend and the love of his life, Becky. They lived in Valley City until 1996, when they moved to Lisbon, N.D. They resided there until 2005, when they made the move back to Valley City after purchasing his grandpa’s old farmstead. Many walls were knocked down, along with countless hours of sweating, swearing, and laughing, but eventually they made his family farmstead their home. Herb continued living there until his very sudden and unexpected passing on May 25, 2023.
Throughout his 58 years, Herb racked up millions of miles as an over-the road truck driver. He began his trucking career in 1994, driving for his brother-in-law Joe Anderson. A short stint as a driver for Bobcat in Gwinner, N.D. came next, until he decided to make the move and go out on his own. He purchased his very own truck, a Kenworth W900L, and was extremely proud of this accomplishment. After a few years of being on his own, he decided to sell his equipment and began working for brothers Kevin & Terry of Wehlander Bros.Trucking. and continued working for them until his untimely passing. He spent the past 25 years working for them and during this time he developed a very special bond, not only with brothers Kevin “Bossman” and Terry, his “keep me young and on my toes” drinking buddy, but also with Kevin’s wife Kari and their 3 children Grady, Brees, and Kolter. Herb considered them family and would never hesitate to tell you just how great they were or how lucky he was to have as great of friends as them.
Herb enjoyed the outdoors, which is where you would usually find him. You knew summer had officially arrived when Herb and his friend Gary would head to SD for their annual fishing trip. Anytime after that he could be found fishing on a lake somewhere with either Becky or his sister Teri. If he wasn’t out on the lake fishing, odds are you would find him driving his boat around like a madman with his grandkids on the tube behind him, trying to dump them in the water and having a good laugh when he succeeded.
Once fall came around, deer hunting was what you could find him doing. The last few years he had been taking his grandson Mav, his”Dude,” along and this is where they developed a very close bond. With Herb’s guidance, he helped Mav fill his first ever buck tag, showed him how to skin & gut a deer, how to cut it up & process it into sausage, shoot all different kinds of guns, mow the lawn (to his standards of course) with the rider, drive the old Ford & run its plow and taught him many other “man things” so he’d be a “real man like Papa.”
Herb was truly a big kid at heart and was always up for anything that involved going fast or the possibility of getting stuck. It wasn’t unusual to find him flying down the road on his Harley, whipping around his yard in his Polaris General, or doing some extreme off-roading in his big Dodge pickup. When not hunting or fishing, he enjoyed golfing with his buddy Dewey, Sunday Game Nights with his family playing either Pass the Pigs or an extreme game or two of Uno, sitting in his recliner watching his favorite TV shows with the volume way too high, smoking too many cigarettes or napping with his fat cat Oreo. He was always down for a good laugh or practical joke and was constantly trying to scare the life out of Becky every chance he got. He was always willing to lend a helping hand to whoever needed it. Herb was definitely a one of a kind guy and will be missed tremendously by those who knew and loved him.
Herb is survived by his best friend Becky “Freak” Kiser of Valley City, son Jeremy Kiser (Christina) of Missouri, daughters Danielle Holmstrom (Shannon) of Valley City & Steph Thompson of Lisbon, N.D., grandchildren Rylee Kiser, Deagan Thompson, Mavrick and Mazie Ludwig, sisters Beth Dvorak & Teri Kiser, brother Mark Kiser, and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. He also leaves behind his good friends Kevin and Terry Wehlander, Kent Korf, Gary Engstrom and his beloved fat cat Oreo.
Herb was preceded in death by his parents Carol and Dale Kiser, brother Monte, great-niece Zoey Anderson, grandparents, numerous aunts & uncles and good friend Keith Miller.
Herb did not want a funeral, nor did he want anyone crying over him. As were his wishes, he was cremated and A Celebration of Life will be held in memory of him on Friday, June 9th, 2023 beginning at 5:00 p.m. at Riverbend Farms. Everyone who knew and loved Herb is invited to come and join his family as they celebrate the life of an amazing man taken far too soon.
Riverbend Farms
3716 117th Ave SE
Valley City, ND
*Located 3 ½ miles south of VC on Kathryn Road
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