Obituary of John Gardner Dahl

John Dahl reached the end of the portage March 15,2025. He was born in 1933 in Pittsburgh, PA. As a young boy he had two desires/goals. He wanted to fly airplanes and build things. He was fortunate to be able to do both. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1955 with a commission in the US Airforce as a 2nd Lieutenant, a BS degree in architectural engineering and a job with Black and Veatch Consulting Engineers in Kansas City, MO. At the time the firm’s offices were on the Country Club Plaza. He felt himself very blessed to work for such a fine firm in such a beautiful place. Beginning in December of 1955, John began his active duty in the Air Force. During the cold war he was flying B-47’s for SAC. He returned to Kansas City and worked at Black and Veatch until his retirement in 1998. He did miss flying and joined the Air Force Reserves flying C-119’s out of Richards Gebaur. His unit was called into active duty during the Berlin Wall crisis. In civilian life he continued to fly and was a certified flight instructor. During his 43 years with B&V he worked on a wide range of projects. He was a registered professional engineer in eight states and worked with Black and Veatch International in East Pakistan,now Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia where he was the managing director of Black and Veatch Arabia during the initial electrification of the eastern provinces. After retirement, he and his wife Judy moved to Duluth, MN to enjoy the north woods and be closer to the family’s second home in Ely,MN. He enjoyed many canoe trips and day trips to favorite fishing spots. His fishing partners included Judy, his kids, grandkids, brother Bill, cousins and friends. While many questioned retiring north, he loved the snow, the lakes and the rocks and trees. An avid reader of history, he was a member of the Bong World War II Book Club for twenty years. He continued using his building skills working on several Habitat for Humanity houses in Duluth and building furniture for the home and cabin.

He is survived by Judy, his wife of 47 years, and children; Anne Dahl-Loehr (Mark), John (Eric), James (Sheri) and Eric (Christy); eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Wilma Dahl.

Memorial service will be Friday, April 25 2025 at Lakeside Presbyterian Church  Visitation will be at 1:00 and services at 2:00.