Obituary of Charles Dewayne Ekblad

Charles Dewayne Ekblad

1928–2019 Faribault—They say that birthdays are good for you, the more that you have, the longer you will live. Charles De Wayne Ekblad died of natural causes on May 14th, one day after his 91st birthday. Chuck was born in Tyler, MN on May 13th, 1928, the oldest child of Evan and Ella Ekblad. He was later joined by his brother Stuart and his sister Dorothy. Chuck was an avid gardener who took pride in his beautiful flowers, and he shared his tomatoes and peppers with many friends. For years, he grew peppers just for the "newspaper lady" to make her special salsa. Many of his tomatoes made their way to Montana to be enjoyed by his son Al and family, which usually resulted in telling Grampa Chuck stories. (Chuck, you are going to have some explaining to do when you reach those gates!) Chuck was a long-time appliance repairman. If you needed a part, Charlie likely had ten of them. In fact, if you needed anything mechanical, Chuck probably had it. Chuck was married to Joan Davison Ekblad from 1954-1985. They had two children, Michelle and Alan. Chuck was predeceased by his parents, his siblings Stuart and Dorothy, and his ex-wife, Joan. Chuck is survived by his daughter Michele Ekblad-Frank (Mike) of Katy, Texas, and their children Cade, Tate, Zackary (Jennifer), Ian, and Olivia and his "Montana Connection", son Al (Karla) of Helena, MT, and their sons, Brent and Andy, two great-grandchildren (Jayden and Ellie), and several nieces and nephews. Chuck's family would like to thank his friends for their friendship, especially his long-time barber and the barbershop crew, Larry Buhr for all the shopping trips and the gift of his friendship, those from the old neighborhood who shared treats and fed his sweet tooth, Bill and Wendy for sheltering us in mind and body every time we visited dad and for participating in the "Adventures of Chuck", and a special thank you to Cousin Grant and Callie for making a last visit to Uncle Charlie to say goodbye on Tuesday . Graveside services will be held at a later date. Please remember Chuck with a smile. Donations can be made to Rice County Habitat for Humanity or a charity of the donor's choice. Happy Trails, Dad!