Charlene A. (Gabriel) Magstadt, 70, passed away peacefully at Trinity Hospital in Minot after a brief respiratory illness.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:30 AM, Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Parkway Funeral service, 2330 Tyler Pkwy, Bismarck.

She was born in Bismarck on June 8, 1955, to Ervin and Betty (Deisz) Gabriel. She was raised and educated in Bismarck and graduated from Bismarck High School in 1973 when during her senior year she took a job at Meyer Broadcasting where she remained employed for a number of years until she accepted a position at the North Dakota Public Service Commission. During her more than 43-year tenure with the PSC, Charlene embarked on furthering her education and enrolled at the University of Mary where she would eventually earn her bachelor’s degree in 1992, an accomplishment she was very proud of. One of the earlier Commissioners that she worked for at the PSC, Bruce Hagen, recently commented that Charlene was one of the only people in the nation who worked for elected Commissioners representing all the political parties. Other states normally had changes with administrative personnel when another political party took office.

Charlene enjoyed being outdoors in the sun spending countless hours boating on the Missouri River where she would water ski or just hang out on one of the sand bars. She also liked traveling to Hawaii and Arizona during the winter months but also enjoyed snow skiing in Montana and Arizona. Later in life she would often travel to Medora with friends. Over the years she would own a number of Corvettes and a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

During her spare time Charlene spent countless hours making flower arrangements and wreaths, most which adorned her home. Every spring she would also plant many flowerpots, that were situated in well thought out areas all around the outside of her homes.

Charlene had a special place in her heart for children and loved her nephews, niece, great nephews, and great nieces. She made sure she would attend their various sporting events that they were involved in whenever she could.

Charlene had an outgoing personality and enjoyed getting together with friends from work, former high school classmates as often as she could, and her coffee group at the Scheels Sporting Goods cafe.

The family would like to thank all of Charlene’s caregivers, especially the staff at Edgewood Memory Care in Minot where she last resided during her journey with Dementia.

Charlene is survived by her brothers, Gary (Karla) Gabriel and Doug (Kelley) Gabriel; sister, Kathy (Doug) Balliet; stepmother, Darlene Welch; nephews, Donnie (Amy) Balliet, Derek Gabriel, and Dusty (Toni) Balliet; niece, Andy (Kohl) Stewart; great-nephews, and great-nieces.

She was preceded in death by her parents and grandparents.

When Charlene was very young, she and her family were recipients of the Open Your Heart Campaign and later in life she would volunteer to fill and deliver the food baskets to families in the Bismarck area.

In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to Open Your Heart, PO Box 753, Bismarck, ND 58502-0753.