David James Knutson, of Preston, Minn., died on Sunday, September 25, 2022, at the Chosen Valley Care Center, after a valiant battle against COPD caused by asbestos exposure at two previous jobs.
He was born in Lakeville, Minn., on November 6, 1936, to Margrethe Petrea (Larsen), a first generation Danish American and Leroy C. Knutson, a first generation Norwegian American. He graduated from Farmington High School in 1954. He moved to Seattle, Wash., to work at Boeing Aircraft, wiring the wings of the Super Constellation Airliners. When he returned to Farmington the summer of 1955, he worked on the Koch Refinery construction, insulating the cracking tower at Pine Bend near Rosemount, Minn. When he wasn’t eligible for high pay, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in December 1955 and did basic training at Parks Air Force Base near San Francisco, Calif., where he was also involved in sandbagging against their winter floods. As a result he ended up in the base hospital for eight days with pneumonia, which probably contributed to his heart valve problem later in life. Basic Training then was for 12 weeks. He still graduated with Flight 441 of the 3275th Basic Military Training group. He always remembered Major James M. McDill as an exceptional commander. He didn’t have much to say about the D.I.s, although one noticed Dave’s good cadence and picked him to be right guide – which involved some extra privileges. He went to tech school at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Miss., from March 1956 to November 1956. After a leave in Minnesota, he was sent to Sidi Slimane AFB in Morocco, North Africa, December 1956. He had been trained to maintain radar and other instruments but this squadron only had radios in F100s. First he had to locate the radios in the planes and then keep them all in working order. He impressed many of the pilots with his skill and personality. Dave was occasionally invited along on weekends to Casa Blanca. He also joined the Rod and Gun Club on the base and went to many meets. He also shot with the Prince of Morocco (who later was their longest reigning King Hassan II) and many officers. Dave has at least one SKEET patch for 25 in a row. Dave wore out a Browning gun in his year there. He still kept his trophies. He had some amazing stories as a 20-year-old while he was there. He never talked about his top secret clearance during the Cold War while he was in the Air Force.
Dave met Carol Jean Weise, a 1957 graduate of Farmington High School also, when he came home on leave from his tour in Morocco, on a blind date set up by a friend. They married on October 18, 1958, after a long distance courtship and weekly letters when Dave was stationed at England Air Force Base, Alexandria, La., a 20-day leave in August 1958 to propose and meet each other’s families. Carol moved to Louisiana with Dave after their marriage. Dave was honorably discharged December 12, 1958. He worked at Dispatch Oven, Lakeville, making industrial ovens again, insulated with asbestos, for four years.
July 1964 they took a chance and moved with their two preschool children to Blair, Nebr., where Dave enrolled in Dana College, a small Danish Lutheran college. He earned his four-year elementary ed teaching degree in 3 ½ years while working full-time for their county surveyor. Carol had daycare in their home. When Dave graduated in 1968, his boss offered a 50% higher salary. So with two grade school children and four years of college debt, Dave stayed in land surveying and became a licensed land surveyor in Nebraska. After four more years it was time to return to Minnesota. Dave worked for N.C. Hoium and managed the branch office in Cambridge, Minn. Carol worked at People’s State Bank while they were there, for Elgin Gunderson and family.
In 1974, Dave heard about Fillmore County wanting to create a full-time county surveyor office to remonument the county. Reestablishing section corners saved individual land owners costs on their private land surveys because Dave’s work was filed at the courthouse and available to anyone. Dave went on to be the first Fillmore County Surveyor and the longest serving, from June 1974 to June 2009. No matter where he worked in the county he made lifelong friends with his sense of humor and winning personality. Dave was also the volunteer airport manager for a number of years. He was instrumental in getting the new arrival and departure building built and dedicated to Bernard Pietenpol, a pioneer aviator from Cherry Grove, Minn.
Dave belonged to Fillmore County Flying Club for years, until a detached retina ended his flying days. He and Carol went on many flying trips to Winnipeg, Canada, the air shows at Dayton, Ohio, twice, Columbus Ohio, many MSPS conventions all over the state of Minnesota, Blair, Nebr., when Dave attended Dana College there, Omaha to visit friends, Towanda, Penn., to visit friends who used to live in Preston, and fly-ins all over the state of Minnesota. The Duluth Air Show with the Canadian “Snow Birds” flight team and the Thunderbirds was awesome. He was always willing to give families flights around Fillmore County; we even took friends up to view the fireworks over Harmony once. He obtained his general aviation pilot’s license when living a short distance from the Cambridge Airport.
Three of Dave’s prized and earned awards were his college diploma in 1968, his pilot’s license in 1973 (a childhood dream), and his Minnesota Professional Land Surveyor’s license in June 1974. Dave went on to become registered in Arkansas and Kentucky besides Nebraska.
Dave is survived by his wife of almost 63 years, Carol; his daughter Gwen Stacy Knutson (Russ Arren Holz) of Bloomington, Minn., Troy James and Mary Beth Knutson of Germantown, Tenn.; five grandchildren: Will, Thomas, John, and Phillip of Memphis and Annalise Knutson of Knoxville, Tenn.; two sisters-in-law, Shirley Maier of Burnsville, Cheryl and Dave Schwicktenburg of Jordan, Minn.; his older brother Dick’s widow, Grace Knutson of Casa Grande, Ariz.; five nephews, and two nieces.
Dave was preceded in death by his parents, his wife’s parents Ralph and Ella Wiese, his brothers Richard Knutson, Alexandria, Minn., and 17-month-old baby brother Chuckie, due to tuberculosis in 1941; two sisters-in-law, Ruby Marcell and Nola Kaye Wiese, and brother-in-law T. Robert Maier.
Dave’s urn will be buried in the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery – Preston at a future date.
Dave surveyed the county farm twice to sell off part of it when it was so overgrown. He did not know if he was going to drive into a sinkhole. When he surveyed the balance of the county farm to create the veterans cemetery, it had been mowed and wasn’t quite as scary.
Suzanne Fossum Bray says
I’m so sorry to hear of Dave’s passing We graduated together. He was truly a wonderful person. I got to know him at Dana College, He drove a car full of us student teachers to our assigned school for practice teaching in Omaha, He would always have great stories to tell us on our way to and from school and a lot of them were about his two little children Troy and Gwen, and his wife, they sounded like the perfect little family. He was a great person to have as a friend. I met up with him once again at a Dana reunion football game with my husband Jerry. You have my deepest sympathies.
Mark Severtson says
As a fellow surveying colleague, I got to know Dave while attending our local surveying Chapter meetings and various surveying conferences. We both loved to golf and tried to get together as often as we could to tee it up together. I remember a few surveying meetings where we would play golf before the meeting and then skip the meeting and continue to play another round! Dave’s birthday was in November and he always tried to golf on his birthday if the weather would allow. I joined him a couple times on his birthday when the weather was nasty but Dave was hardcore and enjoyed being able to say he played golf on his birthday. I am going to try to golf every November 6th and remember the good times I had with my good friend Dave.
Vince Fangman says
Dear Carol and family. Dave (or as my son Michael and I referred to him as “Super Dave”, was a friend, excellent colleague, and bit of a social butterfly. He was very helpful as a county surveyor and my wife Sally and I enjoyed socializing with you and Dave at MSPS conventions etc. He loved to golf and made a point of it to golf with our one son Michael (especially since Mike was a scratch golfer) and I. On the humorous side, one of the times Dave came to Pine Island to golf, Mike and I found that all of the doors on his (or daughter’s car) were open. He explained that the car had been in a flooded parking ramp and he was just drying it out! We have fond memories of him. God Speed, Super Dave!
Connie Villari says
My sincere condolances! I was a colleague of Dave’s in the surveying profession. As a young woman in the profession, Dave and the golf gang were kind enough to take me under their wings and allowed me to play in best ball tournaments with them at the annual surveyors meetings.
Dave was such a great guy! We became fast friends and he called to check in on me now and again. As I progressed in the profession, he was one of the first people to call to congratulate me when I was elected president of the Minensota Society of Professional Surveyors. Dave was always so much fun, and so encouraging. He will be missed, but his legacy will certainly live on with many surveyors who knew him.
It was amazing to read about his interesting life in the obituary. It helps explain his amazing vision, wit and spirit. I hope your memories of your husband, father, uncle, brother or friend will provide comfort. Best wishes and warm thoughts.
Connie
Gloria Pfeifer says
I met Dave through his golfing buddies, fellow Surveyors, and mutual friends. They introduced him to me using the nickname, “Legs”. I was immediately drawn to his dry wit and wonderful stories. Dave was fun, smart and very kind. I was a County GIS director and he a County Surveyor, so our professional lives overlapped a bit, and we both loved the work we did for the Counties that employed us. We were never short of things to talk about. It was easy to be friends with Dave.
I’m so sorry for your loss. He accomplished quite a lot in his lifetime. He certainly lived a good story!
Fran Fairbairn Sauer says
Dear Carol and Family, Please accept my condolence at the passing of your sweetheart and loved one, David. I first met Dave when he and my Dad, Ralph Fairbairn, worked for Fillmore County. He would razz me a bit and tell me not to give my Dad too many headaches….. it was all in fun. But, no doubt, I did give my Dad a few headaches! The past few years, I had the pleasure of running into David at the Post Office. We always would razz one another a bit…..in good fun….and tell one another to stay out of trouble. He would and say, “That’s a tough job, some days.” Last week, as I visited the Post Office, I thought of David and realized that I hadn’t seen him for quite sometime. My schedule had been totally out of sync the past few months. I was well aware of Dave’s health condition & surmised that he was not doing well. My husband had COPD and I new first had of the challenges that accompany the disease. I wish that I had taken the time and initiative to call and ask about David. His humor and personality were a delight to me, always……even when I was a teenager (many decades ago) and he gave me his opinion on my mini-skirt……..he asked me where the rest of my skirt was ! He was never at a loss for words!! Please know that my sympathy is with each of you. You had a very special Husband and Father…..may your memories bring you smiles and a warm heart. Dave was a terrific guy….thanks for sharing him with the world. Francie Fairbairn-Sauer
Gwen Stacy Knutson says
I am his only daughter and had a very close special relationship with my Daddo (that was our pet name for him whenever he texted me and sent mail to me). I was lucky to be able to see him one last time in August before I had health problems of my own and was in the hospital prior to his passing. Like my brother, I was surprised to read about all the things he accomplished that I didn’t know. He was an awesome father and is greatly missed, but I have my memories of everything he said to me and more. I was lucky enough to inherit his photographic memory. Love and miss you always, Daddo.
PS: he was larger than life
Troy Knutson says
I’m his only son and there are things in this obit that I did not know.
I’m glad I got to see my Dad two more times before he passed away. I’m also thankful I was able to be there the weekend he passed and be able to emotionally support my Mom.
Love you Daddoo always,
Troy