Obituary of Dale Owen Gustafson

Dale was born in March 1936 in Litchfield, Minnesota. He attended Kandiyohi and Willmar public schools, and studied electronics, radio, and television at DeVry Technical Institute in Chicago. He was married to Kathy for more than 60 years.

Dale joined the Army in 1956 and served for 3 years at bases in the U.S., Panama, and Germany. He was honorably discharged in 1959 and returned to the U.S., where he began his career in the computer industry, working for Burroughs Corp in a few rural communities throughout the Upper Midwest. In the early 1960s he moved to the Twin Cities, where he worked for Control Data and Seagate until he retired in 2003.

Dale was a very active member of Bloomington Covenant Church, where he served on many boards, and was Camp Representative for Covenant Pines. Dale and Kathy had a great group of friends at Bloomington Covenant, and their social life centered around their Bible Study and Merry Makers group. Dale enjoyed playing on the church softball team with many of his good friends during the 70's and 80's.

In retirement Dale kept busy going to the grandchildren’s sporting events and school programs. He loved watching Gophers, Twins and Vikings games on TV and in person. He also loved going to Destin, Florida in the winter, where he enjoyed playing golf, dominoes, and card games with friends he met at Sandpiper Cove and the Village Church Fellowship.

Dale loved his family and was a consistent example and presence in his children and grandchildren’s lives. He thought nothing of making a 7-hour drive to Chicago to see a game and visit with his grandchildren. In the same way, he was also at every event possible for his grandchildren in Eden Prairie and was always available to help them in any way he could.

Dale is preceded in death by his wife Kathy and parents Walter and Gladys Gustafson of Willmar. He is survived by children Brent (Lesley) Gustafson, Betsy (Alan) Bohlig; grandchildren Kyle (Ali), Greta, Annie, Emily, Justin, Megan; sisters Darlene Gustafson, Mary Ann (Glen) Reed, and many other family members and friends.

A visitation will be held at Bloomington Covenant Church on March 15, 2024, at 10 a.m. The funeral service will be held following visitation, at 11 a.m. 

Memorials will be gifted to Bloomington Covenant Church Soccer Camp and Covenant Pines Bible Camp: https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZAMJ/home