Rolland Loken
April 7, 1929-March 28, 2020
Rolland Loken, 90,
longtime Velva business
owner and civic leader
died on March 28, 2020 in
a Velva Care Center.
Rolland Virgil Loken
was born on April 7, 1929
in Velva to Andrew M.
and Elmyra (Aiken) Loken
where he was raised. He
was baptized and con-
firmed in the Lutheran
faith and educated in the
Velva Public School.
Rolland married Iona
Hystad on June 25, 1953
at North Prairie Lutheran
Church, rural Simcoe.
They made their home in
Velva where Rolly was
employed at Krebsbach’s
IH dealership. He later
was employed at Burgess
Chevrolet and Implement
Company and became
part owner. In 1977, he
was joined in ownership
by Rod Loken and Vernon
Wunderlich when the
business became LW
Chevrolet. Rolly sold his
interest in the business in
1981 and in 1982 he built
a brick building near
Main Street and owned
and operated Rolly’s Parts
Center there until he re-
tired in 1991. Most im-
portantly, he and Iona
were blessed with four
children, seven grandchil-dren and seven
great-grandchildren and a
foreign exchange student
daughter from Norway.
Rolly was a member of
Oak Valley Lutheran
Church where he served
on the church council. He
was a member of the Vel-
va City Commission, Vel-
va Park Board and Velva
Clinic Board. He was also
a charter member of the
Velva Lions Club. He held
membership in the Star
City Golf Club and several
heritage organizations. He
especially enjoyed partici-pating in Velva bowling
leagues, hunting, fishing,
attending Velva sporting
events, events of his chil-
dren and grandchildren
and golfing (carding a
hole-in-one at the age of
79). Rolly also enjoyed
traveling with family and
friends and because he
lived in Velva all his life
he often would say he
“never got out of town.”
However, he was for-
tunate to travel to Norway
four times, visiting the
birthplace of his paternal
grandfather, as well as
their Norwegian daughter
and her family and many
of Iona’s relatives. He also
traveled to Alaska, Wash-
ington, D.C. and
numerous places in the
US and Canada.
Rolly’s loving family
includes: his wife of 67
years, Iona; sons: Rodney
(Marlys) Loken of Velva
and Richard (Mary) Loken
of Rochester, MN;
daughters: Jackie
Schmaltz of Velva and
Lisa (Marty) Heim of
North Salt Lake, Utah;
foreign exchange student
daughter Eirin Ruud
(Snorre) Nordstrand of
Norway and their chil-
dren; grandchildren: Jen-
nifer (Jon) Striha, Maggie
(Ryan) Albrecht, Miranda
(Erik) Lindstrom, Zachary,
Bryce and Seth (Sarah)
Loken, Kaiden Heim;
great grandchildren:
Emma and Carsten Striha,
Lila and Isak Albrecht,
Eloise and Olivia
Lindstrom, Raegan Loken;
sister-in-law: Elizabeth
Loken of Velva and
several nieces, nephews
and cousins.
Rolly was preceded in
death by: his parents, sis-
ters: Anna Marie Loken,
June Willoughby, Ella
(Don) Stafford and brother
Marvin Loken.
An informal Service of
Remembrance of Rolly
Loken will be held Satur-
day, June 12, 2021 at
10:30 a.m. in Oak Valley
Lutheran Church – Velva.
Face coverings and social
distancing are en-
couraged.
A private family re-
viewal and later graveside
service with burial of
cremains were previously
held due to the Corona-
virus Pandemic.
The family ack-
nowledges, with grateful
thanks, the outpouring of
condolences and memori-al gifts at the time of
Rolly’s passing. Now we
remember with thanks to
God for the 90-plus years
he was granted, and the
times shared with family,
friends and acquain-
tances.
Memories and con-
dolences can be shared at
www.thomasfamily
funeralhome.com.