Dale Carlson

Dale W. Carlson was

born on August 12, 1940

in Minot, ND to Winfield

and Thelma Carlson. He

was raised in Minot and

graduated from Minot

High School in 1958.

Dale was a cowboy at

heart and managed to find

his way into a rodeo are-

na, even though he wasn’t

born into a rodeo family.

A rained-out rodeo was

where he met the love of

his life, Mary Bahm. They

were married for 53

wonderful years and had

two children, Sandy and

Greg. They also have five

grandchildren. Dale had a

career as a bricklayer and

built the beautiful home

near Sawyer, where he

and Mary raised their

children.

Dale’s rodeo career was

something he was very

proud of. He was the

North Dakota Rodeo Asso-

ciation Calf Roping Cham-

pion in 1964 and 1966. He

also won several cham-

pionships and runners-up

in the Roughrider Rodeo

Association. The

Roughrider Rodeo Associ-

ation was a pivotal part of

Dale’s life. Roughrider

gave him the opportunity

to ride and rope with his

kids at his side and, years

later, his grandkids. His

wife, Mary, has been the

secretary for Roughrider

for many years and they

could always be seen trav-

eling together and hang-

ing on the fences to cheer

on the kiddos they love so

dearly, many of which

weren’t even their own.

In the summer of 2021,

Dale was inducted into

the North Dakota Cowboy

Hall of Fame with his

family there to celebrate

in his achievements. The

legacy he is leaving

behind for rodeo in North

Dakota is truly un-

matched. He was a con-

testant, a judge, and a

stock contractor; but his

favorite role by far was to

be a mentor to up and

coming cowboys and

cowgirls, including his

own grandchildren.

Dale was and is an in-

credible husband, father,

and grandfather. He knew

when to push to get the

best out of people, but he

also knew when to ‘fess

up and go buy his wife

some flowers. His love for

a person could be felt dee-

ply simply through the

squeeze of a hand.

Dale’s loving family in-

cludes: his wife, Mary;

son Greg (Debra) Carlson

of Jamestown; daughter

Sandy (Steve) Buchholz of

Sturgis, SD; grandchil-

dren Kali, Colton, and

Kenzie Carlson, and Molly

and Brady Buchholz; si-

blings Beth Harris of

Westby, Wisconsin and

Linda (Jerry) Olson of

Minot, ND; in-laws Robert

(Carlene) Bahm of Man-

dan, ND; and many other

friends and relatives who

will greatly miss him.

Dale was preceded in

death by: his parents,

Winfield and Thelma

Carlson.

Dale passed away on

September 13, 2021 in

Bismarck, ND with his

family by his side.

Visitation: Monday,

September 20 at Thomas

Family Funeral Home in

Minot from 5-7 pm.

Celebration of life ser-

vice: Tuesday, September

21 at 1:30 p.m in Christ

Lutheran Church in

Minot, ND. Masks are

highly recommended.

Memorials: In lieu of

flowers, memorials may

be donated to Roughrider

Rodeo Association or

North Dakota Cowboy

Hall of Fame in Dale’s

memory.

Memories and con-

dolences can be shared at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.