Dale Jackson

Dale Jackson, 84, of Battle Lake, MN, died at the Good Samaritan Center on Sunday, April 28, 2019 in the arms of his family.

Dale was born October 13, 1934 in Mora, Minnesota as the youngest child of Arthur W. and Florence T. Jackson. As A.W. was involved as a land agent, the family moved frequently before settling in Breckenridge, MN, where Dale and his siblings all graduated from high school. After high school, he attended Ventura (Calif.) Junior College for one year, before enlisting in the U.S. Army, serving as a company clerk for an anti-aircraft battery based in Washington, D.C.  After leaving the Army, Dale enrolled at what was to become the North Dakota State University. While in school, he courted and married Marlys Alice Shelstad, a sister of his friend and high school teammate Roger Shelstad. He graduated in 1959 with a B.S. in Music Education and Psychology.

He taught music and directed the bands and choirs of the North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton, ND, as its first full-time music faculty member, from 1959 to 1962. Pursuing non-musical opportunities, Dale and Marlys moved to Chicago, Illinois, and in the following eleven years, Dale worked as a Human Resources administrator for a number of different insurance and computer companies. The promotions and transfers typical of that time meant the family knew all too well the U-Haul motto: “Adventures in Moving,” as they moved successively to Arlington Heights (IL), New Brighton (MN), Redwood Falls (MN), High Point (NC), and Austin, MN.

In 1973, Dale, Marlys, and the boys settled in Fosston, MN, where Dale served for 12 years as the administrator of the Fosston Hospital. Moving to the lakes of Akeley, MN, he served as a nursing home administrator in Park Rapids, MN, retiring in 1988. He remained active by substitute teaching, and working at the Cease Funeral Home as a funeral director’s assistant. When both Dale and Marlys quit working altogether, they retired to Battle Lake, where they’ve made their home since 1997. In many respects, he was not a committed extrovert in the way his sons have become, but one of his gifts and favorite hobbies was to solve the “degrees of separation” between how the people he would meet were connected to himself, and to other people both he and they knew.

Throughout his life, Dale was a musician — like his parents before him, he performed in countless musical fundraisers, community cabarets, musical theater productions, and other special events. And when he wasn’t singing or performing, he was directing. As much as he loved to sing, he loved to lead singers —something he did for church choirs, community groups, and family gatherings for over 60 years. This was how he felt he could best express his faith and share his blessings with the world.

He is survived by his wife Marlys (Battle Lake), and his sons Jon (Margaret) of Grand Forks, ND and Aanders (Kay Van Erem) of Bismarck, ND; four grandchildren: Kathryn (Nick) Holzer of Bismarck, ND; Nathan (Jessica) Jackson of Okinawa, Japan; Maia Jackson, and Finn Jackson, both of Grand Forks, ND; and four great-grandchildren: Allison, Carter, Julia, and Aaron. He was preceded in death by his parents, and by his brother Ronald and his sister Lenore.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefer memorials be directed to the Eagle Lake Lutheran Church or a donor organization of choice.

Funeral services will be held at Eagle Lake Lutheran Church of Battle Lake on Monday May 6, 2019, at 11:00 am

Visitation: 5-7 pm, Sunday at Glende-Nilson Funeral Home, Battle Lake and one hour prior to the service at the church

Interment: Vukku Cemetery, Foxhome

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