Jean Ann Ill

Jean Ann (Fisher) Ill passed away on April 30, 2026 at her home in St. Thomas. She was born in Grafton, North Dakota on July 17, 1946, the daughter of Henry and Patricia (Kennelly) Fisher. She grew up and attended grade school in Auburn, North Dakota, and graduated from Grafton High School in 1964.

There was a time for everything and a season for all activities in Jean Ann’s earthly life: planting and uprooting, joy and sadness, building and tearing down, beginnings and endings. Jean Ann was a talented and creative person who loved beautiful things and making things beautiful. With a passion for art and design, she loved decorating, gardening and landscaping. She thrived in the outdoors where she derived immense joy from working in her yard and gardens. She enjoyed campfires, traveling to mountains and forests, mowing grass and shoveling snow. For several years, she owned and operated her store, Henry’s Countrypolitan, located on Hill Avenue in Grafton.

When asked by her daughter what advice she would like to leave as a legacy, she said,

“Whatever you endeavor to do, do it with excellence”.

Jean Ann is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Dana and Lon Tisdale of rural Grafton. She is also survived by her brother, Patrick (Patricia) Fisher of Bismarck, and her sister, Margaret (George) Frankberg of Detroit Lakes, MN, and their families. She was predeceased by her parents and Wayne Samdahl, her life partner and soul mate of thirty years.

At Jean Ann’s request, there will be no formal services. “He has made all things beautiful in its time. He has planted eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what He has done from beginning to end”. Ecclesiastes 3:11