David Rendahl

David Allan Rendahl,

81, died in Casa Grande,

Arizona, on March 5,

2022. David was born on

November 23, 1940, in

Rugby, North Dakota, the

son of Lester Julian and

Signa Flaat Rendahl. He

grew up and lived most of

his life on the family farm

in Benson County, Impark

Township, Fillmore,

North Dakota. The farm

was homesteaded by his

grandmother, Sena Am-

dahl Rendahl (Rendedal

in Norway), in 1899.

He began his education

in Fillmore, ND, and gra-

duated from high school

at Dakota Lutheran

Academy in Minot, ND, in

1958. He started college at

NDSU and completed his

bachelors degree in

economics at Concordia

College in Moorhead,

Minnesota, after serving

in the National Guard for

six months. After a year

working in Minneapolis,

MN, he returned to

Fillmore where he farmed

with his father, making

him the third generation

of his family to cultivate

and graze the land.

David met Ruth Con-

stance Martin at Concor-

dia and they were married

in Berlin, New

Hampshire, on January 1,

1966. Ruth and David had

two children, Randy and

Kristi. Ruth died on June

12, 1977.

On January 12, 1980,

David married Laura Mary

Jacobsen in Rugby, ND.

David and Laura contin-

ued to raise cattle and

grain crops until he re-

tired in 2002. A reserved

and pensive man, David

mowed a path in the pas-

ture of the farm for his

daily walks. He also en-

joyed taking walks in the

desert near their winter

“snowbird” home in Ar-

izona. One year David and

Laura hiked into the

Grand Canyon to camp.

En route to Arizona each

year, they visited many

museums along the way,

often staying in a town to

visit the same museum

several days in a row.

Ever the farmer and curi-

ous mind, he learned

about the flora and fauna

of wherever he was, as

well as the agricultural

and other industries of the

area.

The travels of David

and Laura took them

across the Atlantic several

times to explore their

respective family connec-

tions and roots in Norway

and Germany, learn about

the history of the Vikings

across Scandinavia, and

visit their daughter when

she lived in the country of

Armenia. They often par-

ticipated in tours, wheth-

er in the United States,

Mexico, Europe, or else-

where, and took full ad-

vantage of the experts

who led the tours by ask-

ing countless questions.

In preparation for one

tour led by a professor of

medieval European histo-

ry from Tulane Universi-

ty, David watched the

professor’s entire Great

Lecture series on the topic

– not just once, but twice

– in advance of the trip.

Over the years, David

was a man of many hob-

bies. He fished in the

lakes of North Dakota, and

went deep sea fishing in

Alaska and elsewhere. He

maintained beautiful gar-

dens, became an avid bird

watcher, erected homes

for purple martins as they

migrate across the coun-

try, freeze-dried many gal-

lons of berries, collected a

diverse selection of

unique rocks for his rock

tumbler, and took

Norwegian classes. He

was awarded a Centennial

Tree Farmer award for

planting 1,000 trees on his

farm. He also built and

posted homes for blue-

birds and bats, always

contributing to the ecosys-

tem of the area.

David was active in

Toastmasters Internation-

al, Sons of Norway Odin

Lodge 4-87, the

Democratic-NPL party,

and Bethany Lutheran

Church in Rugby. He

served his community as

a member of the Impark

Township Board, the sex-

ton of the Fillmore Luth-

eran Cemetery, and as a

volunteer firefighter for

the Esmond Fire Depart-

ment.

David was admired by

his family for his devo-

tion, steadfastness, hones-

ty, pragmatism, kindness,

and dry sense of humor.

He was stoic in expres-

sion, but keenly observant

of the world. His last

years and months were a

testament to his strength,

resolve, grace, and ulti-

mately, acceptance of

change.

His family is grateful for

the support of friends

over the years, as well as

the caregivers, nurses,

physicians, specialists,

and others in both North

Dakota and Arizona who

have guided the way

through the health care

system and enabled a

good quality of life

throughout the challeng-

ing journey.

He is survived by his

wife, Laura; his children,

Randy Rendahl (Rebecca)

of Raleigh, North Caroli-

na, and Dr. Kristi Ren-

dahl, of Minneapolis,

Minnesota; sister, Laurel

Engelmann, of Shoreview,

Minnesota; two grandchil-

dren, Carson and Sydney

Rendahl; sister-in-law,

Robbin Rendahl

(Stephen), niece, Brenda

(Rendahl) Dellaneva, and

great-niece and nephew,

Haley and Anthony Del-

laneva. He was preceded

in death by his first wife,

Ruth, parents, Lester and

Signa, and brother,

Stephen.

Funeral services will be

held at 11:00 a.m. on

April 9, 2022, at the

Niewoehner Funeral

Home in Rugby with Rev.

Jon Halvorson officiating.

Friends may pay their

respects from 9:00A.M.

until the time of the ser-

vice. Following the fun-

eral service, a reception

will be held at the Coffee

Cottage on Highway 2. He

will be buried later in the

spring at Fillmore Luth-

eran Cemetery. Military

honors will be provided

by the Clarence Larson

Post #23 – American Le-

gion and the North Dakota

Military Honors Detail.

In lieu of flowers,

memorials to the Fillmore

Cemetery Fund – North

Star Community Credit

Union- 241 Highway 2

S.E. – Rugby, ND 58368;

Metigoshe Ministries

(https://metigosheministries.com),

or Audubon Dakota

(https://dakota.audubon.org)

are welcome.

Niewoehner Funeral

Home – 701-776-6222

www.niewoehnerfh.com