Darrel was born March 14, 1938 on the family farm near Jessie, ND, the son of Louis and Helen (Retzlaff) LaPlant. He grew up and attended school in Jessie and Kingsley Township before graduating from Binford High School in 1956. He married Donna "Bunnie" Peterson on July 13, 1957 in the Trinity Lutheran Church of Binford. Darrel worked various jobs before he purchased the Binford Locker Plant in 1964. He operated the locker plant from 1964 to 1983. Darrel later worked for Posi Lock, Art Anderson Farms, Norwood Sales and spent 23 years working for John Wakefield. Darrel served on the city council, Binford Ambulance, Binford Fire Department, Wildlife Club and was a proud member of the Binford Rodeo Club.

Darrel will be missed and remembered by his wife Bunnie of Binford, ND; his children Tammy (Jeff) Risk of Minot, ND, Sherri (Rory) Teigen of Bowman, ND, Tod (Teri) LaPlant of Binford, ND and Shane (Julie) LaPlant of Broadus, MT; his grandchildren Tasha (Danny) Heinrich, Michael, Garrett, Kyah, Shaw, Heather, Clay, Josh (Niquie) Teigen, Jory and Jasmin; his great grandson Sawyer; his sisters Beverly (Bernie) Kelly of Glendive, MT, JoAnn (Blaine) Burleson of Glendive, MT, Sharon (Robert) Fors of Larimore, ND and Darlene Quam of Tolna, ND; his brothers Dolar (Martha) LaPlant of Binford, ND and Donald LaPlant of Bozeman, MT; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Darrel was preceded in death by his parents and grandson Justin Lee.

The Funeral Service for Darrel will be Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 11:00 AM in the Trinity Lutheran Church of Binford, ND. Officiating will be the Reverend Cheri Danielson. The pianist will be Nikki Boote and the soloist will be Karen Alm. Visitation will be Wednesday, February 25, 2009 from 5 PM to 8 PM in the Cooperstown Funeral Chapel in Cooperstown and continue one hour prior to services in the church. Interment will be in the spring at the Binford Cemetery. Casketbearers will be Mike Burleson, Steven Burleson, Kevin Kelly, Casey Kelly, Cody Kelly, Collin LaPlant, John Fors, Lance Curtis, and Todd Brandt. Honorary casketbearers will be members of the Binford Rodeo Club: Bill Rickford, Ron Eggermont, Larry Halvorson, Dan Gilbertson, Lee Gilbertson, Dave Iverson, Jerry Iverson, Josh Barclay, Doug Rickford, and Craig Briss.