Dwight Chalmers Hall

Dwight Chalmers Hall of Buffalo, Minnesota passed away on July 27, 2024 at the age of 96 years, surrounded by his wife and all his children. He was born in Washington D.C. on August 10, 1927, son of Charles & Mary (Sims) Hall, Sr. Dwight attended school in Mount Rainier, Maryland until he was 14 years old, and then Minneapolis, Minnesota when his family moved there in 1941. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in south Minneapolis in 1945.
Visiting his grandparents and relatives in North Carolina during holidays and summer vacations was a special time for his family. In Dwight's early years, they rode the train, and later traveled by car or bus.
Dwight was drafted into the U.S. military twice. Soon after his 18th birthday, he served in the U.S. Navy on a light cruiser, the U.S.S. Dayton, with stops in Hawaii, Panama, Cuba, Trinidad, and other places. After his discharge from the navy in August, 1946, he attended the University of Minnesota and also Minnesota School of Business. In October, 1950, he was drafted again for military service, this time serving in the U.S. Army with the 461st Ordnance Ammunition Company 8th Army which was stationed in Korea. After two years of service, he was discharged in October 1952 and returned to Minneapolis at 25 years old.
Dwight married Barbara Watkins on August 20, 1955; they were both employed at IDS and were introduced to each other when she joined his carpool through work. They made their home in Golden Valley, Minnesota until 1964 when they built a house on Magnolia Lane in Plymouth and moved there. In that home, they raised their six children.
His hobbies included playing tennis, gardening, rocking his grandbabies, boating, and visiting with family and friends.
At 60 years old, Dwight retired after working 35 years at IDS. Dwight & Barbara bought a lake house and lived part of each year on the lake and spent winters in Phoenix. After 18 years of living on the lake, they sold the house and moved into a townhouse in Buffalo.
Dwight is survived by his wife, Barbara of 68 years; children Tom (Pauline), Steve (Sandra), Jean (Neal) Halonen, Julie (Doug) Keskey, Mary (Keith) Hillukka, Martha (Doug) Forstie; 63 grandchildren and 140 great-grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by 3 grandchildren, Marissa Hillukka, Benjamin Hall and Jocelyn Forstie; his parents Charles and Mary, brother Charles, Jr. and sister-in-law, Elsie.
Funeral service will be held Sunday, August 4, 2024 at 3:00 PM with visitation beginning one hour prior at the Cokato Laestadian Lutheran Church (16144 20th Street SW, Cokato, MN). Interment with military honors provided by the Army National Guard and Cokato-Dassel American Legion members to follow at the Cokato Finnish Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to The Peterson Chapel of Buffalo. Online condolences for the family may be directed to