Orval Martin Dahl

Orval Dahl died Sunday, May 1, 2016 at the Clarkfield Care Center in Clarkfield at the age of 93.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 6 at 1:00 PM at Salem Lutheran Church in Montevideo with Rev. Matt Philaya officiating.  Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.   Visitation will be held at the church for one hour before the services on Friday.

Orval Martin Dahl was born to Martin and Marie (Gronning) Dahl in Minneapolis, MN on January 22, 1923.   Martin and Marie had immigrated from Norway and the family resided in a house that Martin built when they arrived.   Orval grew up in North East Minneapolis with four siblings in a Norwegian speaking household.  When he went to school in Minneapolis he quickly learned English.  He attended and graduated from Edison High School in Minneapolis.  Upon graduation he entered the United States Army and served from March of 1943 to February of 1946.  Orval was hurt by a machine gun blast in Germany and spent a significant time recovering from his injuries.

Orval returned to Minneapolis and was united in marriage to Margaret Johnson on November 5, 1949. They had one child, a girl named Jean, who was born in 1950.    The family  moved to Richfield in 1951 and then to Shakopee in 1965.  Orval worked for Minneapolis Moline, Farwell Osmond Kirk and finally at Control Data.   He was a quality control engineer at Control Data and ended up remaining at Control Data until retirement.    Orval and Margaret would winter in Florida with friends from the NE Minneapolis area.  They also were able to travel to Norway  to visit family and friends. Margaret and Orval moved to Willmar, MN and when Margaret died in 2013 Orval moved to Brookside Manor in Montevideo.  

Orval was a very creative person and spent time painting scenes for family and friends to enjoy.  He  also could build just about anything he saw.  His  hobbies also included: golf, reading and Sudoku. Orval also had a passion for hunting, especially pheasant and grouse hunting, and shared this passion with his son-in-law, Tony.   He had a  clever sense of humor and he had  nicknames for all family members. Orval felt it was very important to keep in contact with friends from his NE neighborhood in Minneapolis and he did so all his life.  Friends and family describe Orval as a man of high integrity as well as a true caretaker, having taken care of his wife Margaret prior to her death.

Orval is survived by his daughter, Jean (Anthony) Menden of Boyd; two grand children: Lisa (Steve Kurtzbein) Menden of Montevideo and Kristina (Brett) Boetel of Huron SD; five great-grandchildren: Emily (Jason), Haley, Danielle, Martin and Thomas; one brother: Philip Dahl;  a sister-in-law, Annette Dahl and other relatives and friends.

Orval was preceded  in death by his parents, his wife Margaret in 2013; and siblings David, Edna, and Ruby.

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