Obituary of Elaine Gayle Roehl

Elaine Gayle Dahlen was born on September 4th, 1949, in Red Lake, MN, the daughter of Erling and Ella (Good) Dahlen. She was baptized and confirmed at Ekelund Lutheran Church, rural Goodridge. Elaine was raised on the Dahlen family farm where her brother Kelly and sister-in-law, Brenda Dahlen currently live and farm. Elaine attended Star Township country school until the 7th grade and attended Goodridge Public school graduating from high school in 1967. After high school, Elaine attended the Bemidji Area Vocational school where she earned her diploma in secretarial services. She was an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians.

Elaine studied and passed the Federal Civil Service test and was placed to work for the Federal Government in Washington D.C. She was assigned to work for the “Federal Finger Print” section of the F.B.I. as a clerk stenographer. During her tenure while working for the Federal government in Washington D.C, Elaine lived 2 blocks from the Capitol. She walked thru the Capitol to her office within the Department of Justice building.

Elaine was united in marriage to Kenneth Forbragd on October 18th, 1969 at Ekelund Lutheran Church in rural Goodridge. Soon thereafter, Elaine and Ken made their home in San Diego, CA where Ken was enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Elaine and Ken returned back to Minnesota and had their one and only daughter, Nicole LaRae, born on October, 15th, 1980.

Elaine worked as an Administrative Assistant for McQuay Perfex until 1979. She then took a sabbatical leave of absence and studied computer programming from Brown Institute where she earned a Computer Programming certificate. After earning her certificate, Elaine worked several years for SunGard Securities, a company that provided software and processing for financial services used by banks around the country. Elaine’s roles while working for SunGard, included Computer Programmer Analyst and also a Quality Assurance Analyst. Her entire work career spanned 47 years and Elaine proudly retired in April of 2011.

Elaine met Dave Roehl in April of 1985 and they were married on April 10th, 1992 and she was so thrilled and blessed to gain another beautiful daughter Ginny Lynn. Dave and Elaine enjoyed spending late fall and winters at their home in Cape Coral. They loved all their family gatherings, spending time with friends, dining out, attending festivals, listening to their favorite bands and home improvement projects. Dave and Elaine loved to attend the Minnesota State Fair and only missed one year in 2015 when Dave had back surgery. The annual “Back to the 50’s” classic car show was one of their favorite weekends of the year and Elaine always shared her homemade pickle roll-ups and cucumber sandwiches.

When Elaine was young, she dreamt how different her life would have been if her older sister Cheryl was alive and grew up with her on the farm. Many years later, Elaine met Cheryl Rapp in Florida and they became best friends and enjoyed many activates such has cooking and gardening together. Elaine used to say “Cheryl is my sister from another mother!”

Survivors include Elaine’s loving husband, David of 31 years of Bloomington, MN; daughters, Nicole LaRae (Reese) Forbragd, Woodbury, MN; Ginny (Jeff) Commaford, Ramsey, MN; grandchildren, MyCayla (William) Dahl, Kyle Commaford, Camryn Corey-Lynn, Lauren Commaford and SaRiyah Arnold: great grandson, Henry Cook. Siblings: David Dahlen (Gayle) Goodridge, MN, Jeff Dahlen, Thief River Falls, MN, Carolyn (Scott) Pahlen Warroad, MN, Kelly Dahlen (Brenda) Goodridge, MN, Donna Dahlen (Robert Endly), Bloomington, MN, Leah (Mike) Nelson Chetek, WI, Steven (Ladora) Dahlen, Thief River Falls, MN, sister-in-law, Rosie Dahlen, Thief River Falls, MN, brother-in-law, Danny Roehl and sister-in-law, Betty Roehl, Bloomington, MN, many nieces & nephews; great nieces & great nephews; and many other relatives and friends.

Elaine is preceded in death by her parents: Erling and Ella Dahlen, infant sister, Cheryl Jean, brothers, Joel and Kevin Dahlen, father in-law, Lamoine Forbragd, mother-in-laws, Edna Forbragd and Gwen Roehl, nephews, Cole Dahlen and Dane Roehl.

A celebration of Elaine’s life will be held on Wednesday, May 17th at the Cremation Society of Minnesota located at 7110 France Avenue South, Edina, MN 55435. Visitation begins at 4pm followed by a service at 5pm.

Elaine’s family would like to thank Dr. Madhu Emani and his entire team at Minnesota Oncology in Edina for their medical care they provided to Elaine over the past year. We also thank our friends and extended family for their cards, kindness, support and love.

Elaine Gayle Dahlen Roehl passed away on Friday, April 28th, 2023 at her home with her loving family by her side at the age of 73 years, 7 months, 25 days. May Elaine’s memory be blessed now and forever.