Obituary of Dennis Charles Elwood

Dennis Charles Elwood was born December 6, 1937, at home, in Estherville, IA and passed away on April 14, 2019 at Augustana Chapel View in Hopkins, MN.

Dennis was preceded in death by his beloved wife of nearly 18 years, Mary Ann (Schmidt) Elwood of Richfield, MN and his parents, Frank and Irene (Weir) Elwood of Graettinger, IA.

At age 14, his family moved to Ogilvie, MN onto a half-section (320 acres) farm. He would reminisce about his time spent there 'living off the land', as he would say; hunting, fishing, trapping and cutting wood.

In 1957 he graduated from Ogilvie Highschool, moved off the farm and went traveling with 'Uncle Sam' by joining the Navy from 1957 to 1961. He served in the Navy on the CVA-38, USS Shangri-La Aircraft Carrier, operating in the Western Pacific.  During his time on the ship he moved up the ranks and worked as an interior communications electrician. He remembers, Friday evenings were movie nights on the ship and one of his duties included selecting movies and running the film projector for the Officers and crew members to watch.

After being discharged from the Navy, he furthered his education; majoring in electronics at Dunwoody Institute in Mpls. He lived and raised a family in Princeton, MN and with 20 acres of land was able to do some farming. He worked in construction until he started a job with the telephone company, Northwestern Bell (a subsidiary of AT&T), as an Electrician Technician and retired from the company after 35 years of service as a Data Design Engineer.

Dennis was a lifelong learner and had many hobbies; some of which included, bee keeping, woodworking and cooking. He liked sharing his recipes with family and friends and enjoyed living life with his wife, Mary, by his side.

Dennis is survived by his children: Kevin (Debbie) Elwood and Kristin (Scott) Schaefer; stepchildren: Todd Ohland and Tracy Ohland; grandchildren and step-grandchildren: Tim (Katie) Elwood, Josh (Shelley) Kent, Justin (Maegge) Kent, Madison Schaefer, Kendall (Crystal) Mohr, Curtis (Sarah) Mohr, Heather Mohr, Morgan (Cody) Dumont (Ohland), Rebecca (Kyle) Mullet (Ohland) and Anna Ohland (their mother, Elizabeth (Jeff) Fairchild), Kylee Ohland and Brody Ohland; 21 great-grandchildren and step-great-grandchildren; siblings: Ron (Carol) Elwood, Larry (JoAnn) Elwood, Barb (Bobby) Ripka, Linda (Marnel) Black and Vern (Vicky) Elwood; and other loving family and friends.

Memorial Service to be held on Friday, May 3, 2019 at Pilgrim Lutheran Church & School, 3901, First Avenue South, Mpls., MN 55409. Visitation at 10:00 a.m., service at 11 a.m., luncheon to follow.

Interment will be at a later date.