Pete was born in Berthold, ND to Peder and Annie (Johnson) Kleven on June 12, 1935. Raised and educated in the Berthold area, attending country school and graduating from Berthold High School in 1954.
He set his eyes on and married a cute little blonde girl, Janice Borud, in Berthold on a cold January 1, 1956. They lived and raised their family on a farmstead south of Lone Tree, ND for 50+ years. Deciding they didn’t like clearing the huge snow drifts that formed in their yard from the ND winters, they moved to Piedmont, SD in 2015, closer to two of their sons. Less snow and more hands to move snow worked out great.
Pete had a great sense of humor, a big laugh, and a love for pranks.
He worked very hard to provide for his family. Working for the Burlington Northern Railroad (BNSF) by night and farming and ranching by day. Pete worked for BNSF for 42 years. He had a love for horses his entire life. His early years were busy breeding and training Standard Bred horses for harness racing. His favorite horse by far was “Missy Bee Lincoln”, she showed up as a shout out in many passwords and conversations over the years. As a lover of horses and racing, attending the Kentucky Derby someday was a dream and he achieved that goal in 2016.
Didn’t like the mint juleps and didn’t win any money but boy, the horses were beautiful and the people watching was good too. Pete was a teamster at heart and owned and broke many horses and teams to drive over the years. He acquired his last team in 2005 when he and Janice, Rick and Tim “loaded up the truck and drove to Waverly…Iowa that is…” He purchased Rusty and Star. He and Janice went on many trail rides, drove in parades, hooked up in the evenings and picked up the neighbor kids, hauled prom crowds and wedding parties. There were sleigh rides in the winter, bringing new meaning to “laughing all the way”.
Pete loved a good joke and told a great story, often through gales of laughter. He was the infamous “Crow Bar” in a clowning duo with his good friend Bruce Martin, they performed in tons of parades thru the years and did they ever have fun. Pete always loved a prank, he pulled many, many of them. His “house warming” gifts were legendary. He took another show on the road when he’d dress up in women’s clothing as a bag lady, where he’d show up to birthday parties and other events and promptly roast the celebrant, having been tipped off with stories to tease about and props to add for emphasis.
Pete was a worker, and he instilled the importance of hard work in his kids, he was a great dad, but when he became a grandpa…well, game on. He played barbies, shot guns, he repaired lawnmowers so the grandkids could race them around the yard. They rode, ate ice cream, and watched tons of old movies that Pete found just as funny as the kids. He made up outrageous bedtime stories and some of the favorites were his adventures with Lena & Tina, who we all knew were Cyd and Keely but he had them in all kinds of scenarios! We still have the start of a book with all those stories! He and Janice attended many sporting and academic events for the kids thru the years.
Pete is survived by sons: Rick Kleven, Doug (Teresa) Kleven, Tim (Jill) Kleven; and daughter, Michelle (Tim) Peterson; seven grandchildren: Samantha (Brandon) Blomberg, Casondra (Casee) Seibert, Jeff Kleven (Brent Bode), Riley Kleven, Garrett (Jori) Peterson, Cydney Peterson, and Keely (Tucker) Overland; great grandchildren: Scarlett, Grayson, Conway Blomberg, Ridge, Ryler, and Pozie Peterson; special friend of the family, Lucy Heisinger; sibling, Archie (Marlene) Kleven; out-laws: Marvel ( Ernie) Lenertz, Arlo (Faye) Borud, Larry Borud, Leon (Linda) Borud, Karen Rath (Jerry) Martin, Marlene (Lynn Grabow), and Sheryl Borud.
Pete was preceded in death by his loving wife, Janice; his parents, Annie and Peder; siblings: Lloyd (Ella) Kleven, Martha (Tom) Elstoen, Doris (Lester) Edwardson, Arnot (Audrey) Kleven, and Norma (Carroll) Tudahl.
