Thorvald “Dennis” Meland

Thorvald “Dennis” Me-

land, 78, Hawley, MN,

died peacefully in his

son’s home in Minot, ND

on Monday, June 14th. He

was surrounded by family

in the final days of his

courageous fight with

lung cancer.

Dennis was born Au-

gust 28th, 1942 in Haw-

ley, MN to Thorvald and

Minnie (St. Clair) Meland.

He grew up in Hawley,

where he attended Haw-

ley High School and gra-

duated in 1960. Dennis

had four brothers and a

sister: Walter, Carolyn,

Richard, Merle and John.

In 1965, Dennis married

Karen Stundahl. Their son

Tony was born in 1966.

Dennis and Karen later di-

vorced after 20 years of

marriage.

Dennis was drafted into

the army in 1965. He

served for two years and

was stationed in Germany

for much of that time. He

was honorably discharged

in 1967.

Dennis was a jack of

many trades. He worked

as a meat cutter in Hawley

and Flom, MN. Later he

worked at Ireland’s

Lumber Yard in Hawley.

During that time, he built

a home for his family, do-

ing most of the construc-

tion work himself. He also

sold insurance for some

time in Hawley and De-

troit Lakes, MN. He re-

tired and moved to a farm

near Hawley. He spent

many years there, until re-

cently selling and moving

to an apartment in town.

Dennis was very proud

of his son Tony and his

two grandchildren Taylor

and Mattie. He was

known to frequently brag

about them and their ac-

complishments. His

grandkids spent many

summers out at his farm

while they were growing

up, enjoying a special

freedom about their life in

the country. His brother

Richard “Dick”, also lived

with him at the farm for a

few years before his own

death. The farm also saw

many visitors, friends and

family through the years.

Many memories were

made there, and he was

happy to share that spe-

cial place with the people

he loved.

Dennis always enjoyed

the nature out at his farm,

and loved to watch the

animals or go for a drive.

He was also quite the han-

dyman, always working

on projects in the shop,

around the house or in

the garage.

He was creative too,

whether it was painting

little knick knacks or sim-

ply sitting down with the

kids to color a page out of

a coloring book. He would

often joke that he “didn’t

know what he wanted to

do when he grew up”. It

was that childlike quality

that kept him fun and

lighthearted until the end.

He brought so much joy to

acquaintances and neigh-

bors, as well as doctors

and nurses, who got to

know him in the final

stages of his life. Most im-

portantly, he always kept

a good attitude and loved

to joke around. He will be

greatly missed by all that

had the pleasure of know-

ing him.

Dennis is survived by

his son Tony Meland (An-

gie Ward) of Minot, ND;

his grandson Taylor Me-

land of Ft. Collins, CO;

his granddaughter Mattea

“Mattie” Meland of Minot,

ND; and his brother Merle

(Betsy) Meland of Califor-nia; as well as several

nieces, nephews and

cousins.

Dennis was preceded in

death by his parents,

Thorvald and Minnie Me-

land; his brothers Walter,

Richard and John Meland;

and his sister Carolyn

(Meland) Melbye.

A private family

memorial will be held at a

later date, followed by a

burial service at the

cemetery in Hawley, MN.

Those wishing to sign

the online register and

share memories may ac-

cess the online obituaries

section at (www.

thompsonlarson.com).