Dayton Mortenson

son, 76, formerly of

Rolette, ND, was called by

the Lord and quietly

passed away with family

by his side at Silver Creek

Memory Care Center in

Mesa AZ.

Dayton was born to

Alfred and Bertha Morten-

son on May 29, 1940, in

Bottineau, ND. He was

one of six children who

were raised on the farm

located about 5 miles NW

of Kramer, ND. He gra-

duated from Bottineau

High School in 1958 and

went on and graduated

from Dunwoody Techni-

cal College in Minneapo-

lis, MN. Shortly after col-

lege, he met and married

Patricia Dassler, whom

through this loving mar-

riage raised three chil-

dren.

Dayton worked very

hard, took pride in his

work and was always wil-

ling to ask for or offer

help to others. In his ac-

tions, he tried to lead by

example. Early in his life,

he worked in the grocery

industry in the

Milwaukee, WI area.  He

then moved the family to

Richfield, MN where he

became manager of a

Super America becoming

an Area Rep. In 1975,

Dayton opened Dayton’s

Red Owl store in Rolette,

ND. He enjoyed operating

the family store for

several years before the

franchise forced him to

close. Dayton then rolled

up his sleeves and started

the Prime Painting Inc.

business. A lifelong

dream was fulfilled in

1985 with a move to

Mesa, Arizona. Dayton re-

tired as Facility Manager

at the Motorola facility in

Tempe, Arizona. After he

retired, Dayton and Pat

spent their summers in

North Dakota. They en-

joyed spending time visit-

ing friends, family and

many quiet mornings on

the pontoon walleye fish-

ing on Lake Sakakawea.

He was a member of the

Masons and eventually a

Shriner. He had the love

and passion to be in the

clown unit participating

in parades and visiting

the Shriner’s Children’s

Hospital. He was for-

tunate to meet and be-

come friends with Emmitt

Kelly Jr. while living in

Arizona, and collecting

many of the Emmitt Kelly

Jr. memorabilia. Besides

clowning, his hobbies in-

cluded fishing, playing

cards, dancing, golfing,

waterskiing, camping and

traveling, especially to

Norway in 2007. He loved

watching Arizona Dia-

mondbacks baseball

games and was an avid

Green Bay Packers fan. He

was fortunate enough to

attend the “Ice Bowl”

game in 1967 and when

the Packers played in

Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.

Family: Dayton is sur-

vived by his wife of 57

years, Pat;  Children: Gor-

lyn (Rachael) Mortenson,

Hazen, ND; Dawn (Shel-

don) Albertson, Minot,

ND; and Kent (Diane)

Mortenson, Dickinson,

ND: 8 grandchildren, 6

great-grandchildren and

numerous cousins, nieces,

nephews and extended

family. Sister, Elaine Kit-

telson, El Paso, TX; Broth-

ers, Glenn Mortenson,

Virgil Mortenson, both

Bottineau, ND and Beryl

Mortenson, Spokane, WA.

He was preceded in death

by his parents, and broth-

er Donovan Mortenson.

Services: The family re-

quests, in lieu of flowers,

please support and donate

in Dayton’s name to your

local Alzheimer’s Associa-tion or to the Shriner’s

Children’s Hospital. Buri-

al service will take place

in North Dakota later this

summer, with burial at

Mouse River cemetery,

Landa, North Dakota.