Thomas Jeffrey Dahle

1945 - 2025

Thomas Jeffrey Dahle

February 14, 1945 - December 20, 2025

Tom Dahle, 80, passed away December 20, 2025, at the Sanford Hospice House in Fargo, N.D. He fought a courageous battle against metastatic prostate cancer.

Tom was born on Valentine's Day, 1945, to Jeffrey and Erva (Arves) Dahle. He was raised in West Fargo and graduated from West Fargo High School in 1963.

Tom was active in Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout. Scouting developed a lifelong love of nature, hiking, camping and backpacking. He particularly liked the scout hikes to Eleven Acres, a tree covered section along the Sheyenne River.

Tom attend the University of North Dakota and majored in history and minored in math and languages. Although he had no education courses or any practice teaching, he was hired to teach math in Fisher Minnesota. He eventually took the required education courses as well as courses in accounting. He taught for twelve years (1968 - 1979) in Fisher and developed many close friendships that he maintained throughout the years. Having completed his accounting courses, Tom moved to Bismarck in 1979 where he worked as an accountant and eventually established his own practice, which he ran out of his home.

In 1979, Karen Oby also moved to Bismarck from Grand Forks to work for the WIC Program at the State Health Department. She and Tom met at Trinity Lutheran Church. Tom always said they met in the janitor's closet, but at that time it was called the grotto, which is what Karen prefers to call it. Karen and Tom were married June 27, 1981 in St. Thomas, N.D. They were blessed by the birth of their son Aaron in 1983.

Tom took up scouting again when Aaron joined Scouts and went on to become an Eagle Scout. Tom continued working with Scouts and finally retired from scouting after 17 years as scout master of Troop 123. He worked with a great group of scout parents throughout these years and was presented with the Boy Scout's Silver Beaver Award for his years of service. A highlight for his troop was their 2009 Tribute to Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands. Another annual event was a 50 mile bike hike for the scouts from Valley City to Fort Ransom. This introduced the scout to the beauty to be found in Eastern North Dakota, including North Dakota's only waterfall. As a reward for completing the bike hike, the troop ordered for lefse from the Lefse Lady in Kathryn. Tom raised some eyebrows when he went into the Kathryn Café and asked for 30 packages of lefse.

After leaving scouting, Tom continued hiking with his hiking buddies Greg VanVleet, Tom and Sam Hegar. At age 71, Tom completed the 144 mile long Maah Daah Hey Trail in the Badlands. Tom also became active in the North Country Trail (NCT) organization. Because there was no local group in Bismarck, he and Karen joined the Valley City Chapter. Through his scouting connection to Troop 123, Tom was able to coordinate expanding two sections of the NCT through the Audubon Wildlife Refuge and eventually helped found the NCT Central Flyway Chapter covering the Bismarck and Minot areas.

Tom loved to travel and to learn about family history. He traveled to Norway five times and made contact with relatives, with whom he has maintained close contact over the years. He recently made contact with third cousins in Sweden and New Zealand. He would have loved to take a trip to New Zealand and one more trip to Norway and Sweden, but it wasn't to be. Karen and Tom joined the Bismarck Sons of Norway language class and continued to participate by Zoom after the move to Fargo. Tom treasured his early morning hours he and Karen spent doing Duolingo.

At Christmas in 2020 Aaron and his wife Margaret announced they were pregnant. Almost immediately Tom started packing his bags for a move to Fargo. Their grandson, Esben, was born in July and Karen and Tom moved into their home in Fargo In September, 2021. Tom treasured the time his got to spend with Esben, especially the week-ends at the cabin at Golden Lake, North Dakota.

Tom and Karen joined St. John Lutheran Church and soon Tom became very active in the St. John Creation Care Committee. The welcoming warmth of the congregation and especially the Creation Care Committee were greatly appreciated, especially during Tom's valiant fight against metastatic prostate cancer.

Tom is survived by his wife, Karen Oby; beloved son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Margaret Dahle; and the joy of his final years, his grandson, Esben Dahle; brother, Jim (Kathy) Dahle; nephew, Mark Dahle; and niece, Sarah Dahle; cousins around the U.S., Norway, Sweden and New Zealand. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jeff and Erva Dahle; and nephew, John Dahle.

Memorial Service: 11 a.m., Saturday, January 3, 2025 at St. John Lutheran, Fargo, N.D., with a visitation one hour prior. The service will be livestreamed on the funeral home website. Arrangements entrusted to Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home - Fargo, N.D.