Conrad Walter Bauer born July 15, 1986 arrived early in this world and left it too soon. Conrad died Monday, June 22, 2026 from complications of pneumonia.

A celebration of life is scheduled for Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 10 a.m. at Eastgate Funeral Service, 3117 E Century Ave. Bismarck.

In 1986, James and Karen Bauer were living in Winnipeg, Manitoba when they learned they were expecting not one, but two babies, and they were due in September. Life had other plans and in July, ten weeks ahead of schedule, Conrad was born at 5:19 a.m., and his twin brother Dan followed eight minutes later.

Weighing in at two pounds, thirteen ounces, Conrad’s life of antics began in the NICU as a feisty little guy determined to take on the world and all the challenges it had to offer.

That same year, the family moved to North Dakota where Conrad grew up and spent most of his life. He attended Dorothy Moses and Northridge and graduated from Bismarck High School in 2004. He continued his education at Bismarck State College where he earned an Associate in Arts and an Associate in Science. He transferred to St. Cloud State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Rhetoric.

Conrad enjoyed his years in school and was one of those rare individuals who solved numerical equations in math class as easily as he wrote essays for his writing classes. At BHS, he began playing trumpet and joined the band, where he found a cadre of friends—some who lasted his lifetime.

At BSC, Conrad explored many facets of education and also the extra activities that college offers. He thrived at the upper level math and English classes. He wrote a column for the college newspaper, and was published in the literary arts magazine. He was also a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

He continued playing the trumpet and became part of the brass ensemble and the wind ensemble where he met Dr. John Darling. Under Dr. Darling’s training, he continued on the trumpet and learned to play the flugelhorn. He also played with the West River Winds Community Band during a couple of summers.

The place at college where Conrad found a true passion was when Dan Rogers introduced him to the life of the theatre. With his first endeavor, the “1940’s Radio Hour,” Conrad became a comic on the stage losing his pants as he belted out “Blue Moon.” He continued to perform in a plethora of plays and musicals including “Book of Days,” “Nickel and Dimed,” “Man of La Mancha,” and “Marat/Sade, a Play: The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis De Sade.” (Conrad would appreciate that the whole title was printed.) In 2006, he performed with his twin in “The Boys From Syracuse.”

He also worked with Professor Rogers on projects outside of BSC, including a couple of productions with Capitol Shakespeare and “39 Steps” at Dakota Stage.

After college Conrad’s work life was varied. He was a customer service lead at Best Buy and became a commissions/payment processor at Unisys. Then in 2017, he took a welding class at BSC and became a welder at Bobcat/Doosan. He returned to school in 2023 earning certificates in mobile application and electronics. He was last employed with Pye Barker Fire & Safety.

Conrad lived life with gusto. With humor, a hearty laugh and a skewed half grin, he loved to engage in any intellectual conversation where he could practice his rhetoric.

He enjoyed family time and loved to provide the entertainment—nerf guns, dollar store bows and arrows, his own 3D-printed hopping frogs, multi-colored salamanders, and derp birds, and fireworks—lots of fireworks. July 4 was Conrad’s holiday. From loading up on bottle rockets and sparklers to riding his bicycle wearing his plumed sombrero in the Mandan parade, his festive spirit lit up many Independence Day celebrations.

Conrad put his all into many activities, on his own and with family.

He played video games with a vengeance—wanting to dominate, not just win them. He sought perfection in playing Contra Hardcore, Armored Core, and Final Fantasy. To tap his intellect, he preferred games with a story line.

Magic the Gathering became a regular family event. Many afternoons, the MTG group gathered together with their card decks seeking to dominate the table. Conrad was versatile in his playing style and often survived with sheer spite and fog banks. He didn’t like tokens but was willing to play them with his niece.

His twin brother Dan did not play MTG, but the two of them shared many an adventure: walking down the middle of Denver Avenue at age three, arm-in-arm without a care in the world; building endless castles and pirate ships with Legos; playing GI Joe with mom-made duct tape barracks; biking everywhere; canoeing and camping on the Missouri; sharing a love of movies and video games and music— an abundance of music — whether they were listening, performing or sharing.

Although he tried to teach her MTG, Scrabble was the game for mum. Their love of words made them worthy opponents, and they shared many discussions about two-letter words and the debate whether ‘lede’ was legitimate to play.

And Conrad was the one to help with the family pets—he was always there to comfort the dogs and gently poke the cats.

But everyone’s favorite was when Conrad brought the bubbles—blowing them through a wand or fending them off with a sword—he always brought the joy of bubbles and also balloons. It wasn’t a birthday if Conrad didn’t bring balloons.

A tender, sensitive soul, Conrad will be forever missed. There is a hole in our hearts that will never heal.

Conrad is survived by his older brother, Mitchell with his children, Niko and Mattis; his twin brother, Daniel; and his mum, Karen.

Conrad is also survived by: Mitchell’s partner, Janet and her daughters, Sadie and Maggie; Aunt Dianne and Uncle Dave Cramer with Andy and Esther Cramer and their children, Cooper, Colton, Vivienne and Lillian; Beth and Nathan Schoonover and their children, Garrett and Dalton; and Auntie Kim Crowley.

Other family survivors include: Aunt Jo Astrup, Aunt Jean Donahue, Aunt Judy Bauer, Uncle Jerome (Kim) Bauer, Aunt Jennifer (David) Stowell, Aunt Jane (Michael) Longtin and many cousins; Mattis’ mom Miranda and grandparents, Greg and Cheryl Pollert.

Conrad was preceded in death by his father, James; grandparents, Walt and Helen Bauer and Robert and Donna Zimmer; Jan (Bauer) Flanery; Larry Astrup. 

"Bright Side of Life"