BlueBisonRock aka Rod Ehni aka simply "Rock"

[THEsocalledfan]

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have to announce the passing of a true Bisonville legend, BlueBisonRock. I am tearing up just thinking about it. Please keep his family in your prayers.

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rockyehni/journal?fbclid=IwAR1W2LR1L8PxN5WJ207IpJwmQvBBd8h2C IU50IF2XHdMEDpe8O22Od3YAf4

I really need some cheering up after this....please share your favorite Rock memories. I will simply post one of my favorite photos he took of my kids:

https://external-msp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQHEURJwyR8X3cKl&w=500&h=261&url=https%3A%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2FN_y0 pKZf1J471N9zdJsoPpe6ZSEIa99b9dWwCUIwATVfkXsmUBfdr0 JLIrfN8L2fyNGm2qohU12wxEOoCRgjb9IMLXtDMmHR94tdB9U_ 7PIN2Cf6PBhPHvFZY2CoiQgoRbrvr3K7Qmk%3Dw600-h315-p-k&cfs=1&ext=jpg&ccb=3-4&_nc_hash=AQE5jVrSUF-zKxug

[Bison"FANatic"]

RIP Rock RIP

The Pic in my Signature was taken by Rock of my now 15 year old daughter at NDSU's first trip to the Dance. It was a great day and so happy we got to spend it with Rocky and also the conversations in the years after. Thanks for the memories Rock

I know my sig pic bothered him with it being blurry but to me it captured that memory perfectly as my daughter didn't sit still chearing all game and that's why its been in my sig for over a decade.

I just grabbed my best bottle of scotch and there was just enough left for one for me and to pour the last one out for Rock.

Goodbye Rock

[heffray]

RIP Rock.

I joined this board In 2009, we’ll after BBR and a bunch of the few bison faithful. I ran my mouth like a young idiot (and still do from time to time)... when I moved back to the area in 2018 I was invited to his tailgate and chatted with him for a long time. He introduced me to his wife and made me feel at home. I was going through a ton of shit at this time and without going into it, his cordiality, and others at TOHBTC, really gave me hope. Thankful for them and Rock specifically. Rest In Peace, good man.

[BisonTeacher]

I was at a coaches caravan at Huberts in Minneapolis with Rock. They were selling NDSU pint glasses that night. He and I split a case. Tonight, Im drinking out of one of those glasses, the matching ones are at his house in Rochester. This one's for you BBR. Love you brother. You will be missed.

http://www.bisonville.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9580&d=1617933067


9580

[ndsubison1]

RIP Rock. He would sometimes leave funny comments on reps. He was a good guy.

[El_Chapo]

dude... me, savvy, endzone, longhorn have a text string going and I just told them.

I'm glad we made him smile and giggle everytime he came over.

whenever Rock walked over to the frisco cruiser with his camera, he would do so by himself, almost incognito while we are all being wild and crazy and he'd just come up with his camera showing us pics from the last 5 minutes while we drowned him in endzone bombs/bison bombs & we all giggled and patted him on the back.

always smiles, even when we were bitching about Vigen, he was always just smiling at us .

RIP dude. will miss ya

(ps- not to go on a tangent here, but NDSU tailgating is bigger than most people understand, there was alot of people that NEVER ever would be together, different walks of lives, friends, family, politics, whatever... but at NDSU Tailgating, there was always "THAT GUY" you saw every tailgate for NDSU and that was it and you had a fucking beer and awesome good time together briefly )

[heffray]

dude... me, savvy, endzone, longhorn have a text string going and I just told them.

I'm glad we made him smile and giggle everytime he came over.

whenever Rock walked over to the frisco cruiser with his camera, he would do so by himself, almost incognito while we are all being wild and crazy and he'd just come up with his camera showing us pics from the last 5 minutes while we drowned him in endzone bombs/bison bombs & we all giggled and patted him on the back.

always smiles, even when we were bitching about Vigen, he was always just smiling at us .

RIP dude. will miss ya

(ps- not to go on a tangent here, but NDSU tailgating is bigger than most people understand, there was alot of people that NEVER ever would be together, different walks of lives, friends, family, politics, whatever... but at NDSU Tailgating, there was always "THAT GUY" you saw every tailgate for NDSU and that was it and you had a fucking beer and awesome good time together briefly )

For those who don’t think Chapo has a soul...

[BisonTeacher]

If bisonville had a retweet button.
dude... me, savvy, endzone, longhorn have a text string going and I just told them.

I'm glad we made him smile and giggle everytime he came over.

whenever Rock walked over to the frisco cruiser with his camera, he would do so by himself, almost incognito while we are all being wild and crazy and he'd just come up with his camera showing us pics from the last 5 minutes while we drowned him in endzone bombs/bison bombs & we all giggled and patted him on the back.

always smiles, even when we were bitching about Vigen, he was always just smiling at us .

RIP dude. will miss ya

(ps- not to go on a tangent here, but NDSU tailgating is bigger than most people understand, there was alot of people that NEVER ever would be together, different walks of lives, friends, family, politics, whatever... but at NDSU Tailgating, there was always "THAT GUY" you saw every tailgate for NDSU and that was it and you had a fucking beer and awesome good time together briefly )

[Kevin]

Condolences to the family. Rip rock

[MNLonghorn10]

RIP Legend!

[BisonTeacher]

I'm not sure what Bisonville's version of flag at half staff is, but whatever it is, Bisonville should do it Tony.

[Gully]

If bisonville had a retweet button.

No kidding, did Lakes get hacked? :)

Teach, thanks for letting me know...I hadn't been on BV much this week.

[Gully]

I'm not sure what Bisonville's version of flag at half staff is, but whatever it is, Bisonville should do it Tony.

You should only pour 1/2 a stumplifter on Saturday in Rock's honor.

[Gully]

Rock will be missed. What a great guy. I'll think of him walking around tailgating, camera in hand, capturing a few cool moments. He was always a friend to have a beer and chat about whatever was going on at the moment. He was a fixture at many, many games and fan gatherings. I can't imagine how many miles he drove back and forth to Fargo....well actually, yes I can :)

RIP my friend.

[GreenfieldBison]

Unfortunately I never had the chance to meet him but any righteous creature who freely mixes burgers and scotch sounds like my kind of people. Hopefully he has found himself with an endless supply of both.

[admin]

I'm not sure what Bisonville's version of flag at half staff is, but whatever it is, Bisonville should do it Tony.

We shut down Bisonville for a day for Notorious (Chris C.'s) funeral. I was thinking of changing the colors to black/grey but it's been a long time (10+ years?) since I looked at that so I'll have to block off some time.

Man, yesterday when I saw the joys and concerns thread, I had a bad feeling about opening it. What terrible news and what a loss to the Bison community.

[bri-dog]

Couldn't find the one he took of me with my daughter, but I did stumble across one of me with Teach (probably one of the first times we met)...

9587

[HandoEX]

Gonna really miss the great conversations with Rock. He was always so chill and welcoming to everyone, but also a highly intelligent dude. Truly a great guy that will be remembered for a long time. The west lot won’t be the same.

[TransAmBison]

Gonna really miss the great conversations with Rock. He was always so chill and welcoming to everyone, but also a highly intelligent dude. Truly a great guy that will be remembered for a long time. The west lot won’t be the same.Absolutely! Just a great guy. I've been looking through past conversations I had with him...he was always quick to find the humor in a situation. I'm going to really miss having him out at the tailgate. He was one of the best of us.

[BisonTeacher]

We shut down Bisonville for a day for Notorious (Chris C.'s) funeral. I was thinking of changing the colors to black/grey but it's been a long time (10+ years?) since I looked at that so I'll have to block off some time.

Man, yesterday when I saw the joys and concerns thread, I had a bad feeling about opening it. What terrible news and what a loss to the Bison community.

Maybe someone here will come up with a fitting suggestion for tribute. Although Im not sure shutting down "the board" as Rock called it, would be what he would want. Also, Im guessing many will not be able to attend whatever services that are held so keeping the board open for us to grieve together might be helpful Just my two cents.

[El_Chapo]

Maybe someone here will come up with a fitting suggestion for tribute. Although Im not sure shutting down "the board" as Rock called it, would be what he would want. Also, Im guessing many will not be able to attend whatever services that are held so keeping the board open for us to grieve together might be helpful Just my two cents.

good point!!!

[ndsubison1]

dude... me, savvy, endzone, longhorn have a text string going and I just told them.

I'm glad we made him smile and giggle everytime he came over.

whenever Rock walked over to the frisco cruiser with his camera, he would do so by himself, almost incognito while we are all being wild and crazy and he'd just come up with his camera showing us pics from the last 5 minutes while we drowned him in endzone bombs/bison bombs & we all giggled and patted him on the back.

always smiles, even when we were bitching about Vigen, he was always just smiling at us .

RIP dude. will miss ya

(ps- not to go on a tangent here, but NDSU tailgating is bigger than most people understand, there was alot of people that NEVER ever would be together, different walks of lives, friends, family, politics, whatever... but at NDSU Tailgating, there was always "THAT GUY" you saw every tailgate for NDSU and that was it and you had a fucking beer and awesome good time together briefly )

Chatted with him a couple times. Crazy the amount of people Ive met through this message board.

[El_Chapo]

good point as well..^^;

thanks Tony

[KSBisonFan]

Really sad news. Despite only talking to Rock once or twice a year, he was always the same friendly guy who treated me and my family like we had been lifetime friends. His pictures helped put a face to a lot of friends and posters on this board. RIP, Rock.

[Bison Loaf]

I did not know Rock personally, nor did I get the chance, unfortunately, to formally meet him, but he did get a shot of our tailgating group once-upon-a-time on one of his trips around the West Lot. I had no idea who he was at the time, and he was quickly on to the next picture that he needed to get of whomever the next lucky group was. That picture is tacked up on my office credenza as we speak.

And though I didn't know him very well at all, Rock was always one of my favorite posters on Bisonville. He had a unique sense of humor in many of his posts that greatly appealed to me, and we had a few very enjoyable exchanges on certain threads and in a few private messages. Indeed, he sent me some very kind words in a private message back in early 2016 saying that he enjoyed my own "unusual" sense of humor, and wanted to make sure he got out to our tailgate spot to get a snap of us and meet me in person. I told him how greatly I would enjoy that, but that he had already been there for a picture a little over 2 years before (the same one above). Heck, I wasn't even posting yet on Bisonville at the time that picture was taken! (And don't blame Rock for getting me started posting either, dammit! :) )

But alas, to my great loss, that meeting never did take place for one reason or another I suppose (one being that I almost never leave our tailgate - which I need to rectify in the future), but he certainly continued to be a favorite BV poster of mine. So much so, that in my own weird way of doing things, Rock was included when I ended up using many of my favorite posters as unwitting "subjects" way back in 2017 for our 1st "Thunderstruck Makers Tailgating Recruits" post in that goofy damn AC/DC thread. I have good reason to believe Rock enjoyed it, however, and that, at the very least, makes me smile today.

http://www.bisonville.com/forum/showthread.php?36764-AC-DC-to-the-West-Lot-rumors&p=1195958#post1195958

RIP, Rock. Thanks for being my friend on Bisonville.

[THEsocalledfan]

dude... me, savvy, endzone, longhorn have a text string going and I just told them.

I'm glad we made him smile and giggle everytime he came over.

whenever Rock walked over to the frisco cruiser with his camera, he would do so by himself, almost incognito while we are all being wild and crazy and he'd just come up with his camera showing us pics from the last 5 minutes while we drowned him in endzone bombs/bison bombs & we all giggled and patted him on the back.

always smiles, even when we were bitching about Vigen, he was always just smiling at us .

RIP dude. will miss ya

(ps- not to go on a tangent here, but NDSU tailgating is bigger than most people understand, there was alot of people that NEVER ever would be together, different walks of lives, friends, family, politics, whatever... but at NDSU Tailgating, there was always "THAT GUY" you saw every tailgate for NDSU and that was it and you had a fucking beer and awesome good time together briefly )

This is quite possibly the best post ever by Lakes. It is so inciteful and true......thanks Lakes. I needed it.

[bisonfanette]

I was following his caring bridge site & just couldn’t believe he was gone. I just finished glancing at some of his prior pm’s. He was a very kind gentleman. Always walked up to visit for awhile. Very inclusive & caring person. BBR, you will be greatly
Missed. Rest In Peace Russ.

[El_Chapo]

poured 1 out for ya Rock at gametime

[marenlee]

Rocky was a great man. I brought him and RTO a trunk full of Yuengling to Frisco #3. He introduced my wife and I to TOHBTC at the hotel in Plano the night before the game and had lots and lots of beer that night. It was not easy getting up for the tailgate the next morning and he graciously offered to drive us to the stadium. We enjoyed our first Bison tailgate with him and was the best experience we could ask for with a lot of it driven by him. We did the same thing the next year before we left the mainland for Guam. Brittany and I will never forget about Rocky and are honored to have met and known him.

[THEsocalledfan]

Rocky was a great man. I brought him and RTO a trunk full of Yuengling to Frisco #3. He introduced my wife and I to TOHBTC at the hotel in Plano the night before the game and had lots and lots of beer that night. It was not easy getting up for the tailgate the next morning and he graciously offered to drive us to the stadium. We enjoyed our first Bison tailgate with him and was the best experience we could ask for with a lot of it driven by him. We did the same thing the next year before we left the mainland for Guam. Brittany and I will never forget about Rocky and are honored to have met and known him.

I know I met you guys in person one of those times with Rock.

[runtheoption]

Rock was a gentlemen in the truest sense, with a wicked sharp sense of humor. He will be missed by many.

[El_Chapo]

please post an obit for us.

[56BISON73]

please post an obit for us.

These people are handling arrangements. Havent seen anything else except notification of death.

https://mackenfuneralhome.com/

What I have noticed while looking at their current obits is many passed away a couple of months ago. May be they are catching up because of covid?

[LikeMothers]

This is the most recent photo I have; USD Playoffs 2019

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-nQd4FPT/0/73dc0cfa/XL/i-nQd4FPT-XL.jpg

Mississippi Valley State

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-QQMWcLh/0/f7e5e6ef/XL/i-QQMWcLh-XL.jpg

[GradBison]

RIP Rock will miss you and your great pictures.

He was having a setting issue with a new camera where there was a slight delay between shutter press and capture, I met him in the tailgate lot and with LikeMothers' help we straightened out for him. He was so happy that he gave me a big bear hug knocking his cap off in the process :) a genuinely good guy. RIP and condolences to the family.

[SlickVic]

i always enjoyed the rocks posts about coaching youth football, could tell hed be a great coach/example for youngsters-----------RIP bud, sad news

[El_Chapo]

Obit

https://www.postbulletin.com/obituaries/obits/6986421-Rodney-J.-Ehni

[56BISON73]

Obit

https://www.postbulletin.com/obituaries/obits/6986421-Rodney-J.-Ehni

[El_Chapo]

Celebration of Life Day before FCS title. May 15.

[SlickVic]

Celebration of Life Day before FCS title. May 15.

*chills*------thats good stuff!

[El_Chapo]

*chills*------thats good stuff!

Lets win this chipper for Rock!!

[BisonTeacher]

Have there been any updates on the services etc?

[56BISON73]

Have there been any updates on the services etc?

15th May............

[BisonTeacher]

15th May............

Thank you. Any details yet, or just the date?

[56BISON73]

Thank you. Any details yet, or just the date?

https://mackenfuneralhome.com/memorial-services/rodney-rocky-ehni/

[BisonTeacher]

https://mackenfuneralhome.com/memorial-services/rodney-rocky-ehni/

Not trying to be pushy here but that site doesn't have any specifics either. Time location. Are they still working that out? If so I'll keep checking that site.

[El_Chapo]

agree with teacher.
its Minnesota Fishing opener, I will pouring one out for him.

[BisonTeacher]

For those who cant make it to Rock's Celebration of Life tomorrow, I have the address to send cards to. I dont know that I have permission to post it publicly, so feel free to message me. Im guessing if you send it to the funeral home they will get it to the correct place as well.