Richard Dahlen

Richard Allen Dahlen, 75, of Lakota, passed away into the arms of the Lord on Friday, September 25, 2026 after a short battle with cancer.

Rich was born to Marvin and Lois (Bovee) Dahlen on May 24, 1951 in Fordville, ND. On July 15, 1951 he was baptized in the Dahlen Lutheran Church. Rich was the middle child between Joyce and Lee. He grew up in Dahlen and graduated school at Unity High School in 1969. During school he enjoyed playing sports, basketball was his favorite. He was very busy on the family farm. Throughout high school he worked on various farms. In 1971 he was drafted into the Army. He reinlisted in 1973 and retired in 1991 at Fort Gordon, GA. In his years of service he achieved a ranking of E7. He started in communication, military intelligence, went into recruiting and ended as an instructor. He had two tours of duty in Germany, and one in Korea. He earned the National Defense Service medal, multiple Good Conduct Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Gold Recruiters Badge, multiple NCO Professional Development Ribbons, multiple Overseas Service Ribbons, Army Service Ribbon, Drivers/Mechanic Badge, and Expert Rifle Ribbon.

Rich was married to Nan in which they had twins Angie and Jenny and twins Kelly and Kristie. Later Rich married Diane where Nycole, Heather and Martin were born. Later Rich adopted Cherlyn and Casey. While in the Army, Rich traveled many places, which resulted in many stories and memories. In 1991 after retiring, the family moved back to North Dakota where he attended Mayville State University to obtain his math teaching degree. After the kids graduated high school he fulfilled his dream of being a math teacher which resulted in him relocating to Lakota, ND. While teaching his 12 years in Lakota, he taught the kids not to say “like” and to love math. He was the most patient teacher there ever was. He would spend countless hours helping his students and even opening the school on Saturdays for extra help. While teaching math he was also the assistant cheerleading coach. Rich attended all sporting events and could cheer louder than the student section. All students looked forward to Mr. Dahlen’s pizza parties at the end of the school year. Many of his students had their own nicknames that he created.

Rich enjoyed many card games. He was very patient in teaching all the grandkids how to play cribbage. There were thousands of games played over the years at all dining room tables.You could find a board and a deck of cards in the trunk of his car. Other things he enjoyed was to travel to Bismarck to see his sister, Texas to see his sister-in-law and brother, and also to California to see his daughters. He recently went on a trip of a lifetime with his son to see the Baseball Hall of Fame and a few games along the way. Traveling to see the grandkids in sports or school events was always a passion of his. You could always hear him yelling from the stands. Rich also loved to read, doing cross word puzzles, and completing sudoku puzzles. You could always find a book close to him to pass the time.

Rich was survived by his nine children Angie (Luis) Dahlen of San Jose, CA, Jenny (Tom) Dahlen of Tulunga, CA, Nycole (Jared) of Minot, ND, Kelly Bryant of Napa, ID, Kristie Shaffley of Boise, ID, Heather Gibson of Grand Forks, ND, Martin (Miss) Dahlen of Fargo, ND, Cherlyn Rainbow of Ft. Totten, ND, and Casey Korb of Lakota, ND. Sister Joyce Foss of Bismarck, ND, Brother Lee (Deb) Dahlen of Van Alstyne, TX. Grandkids Wyatt, Jack, Regan, Zavure, Madasun, Krynnthia, Landra, Cordel, Ryker, August, Edison, N’Deye, Linus, Lucas, Gracie, Kaylee, Caiden, and Kinsley. Great grandkids Owen, Rhett, Briar, June. Several nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, brother-in-law Philip, niece Courtney.

Please always remember Rich’s words of wisdom “Be happy, and be a good person”.

FUNERAL SERVICES: 11 a.m. Saturday, October 3 in Dahlen Lutheran Church, Dahlen, ND with VISITATION: Friday, October 2 from 5-7 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service held in the Bakke Funeral Home of Larimore. Visitation will also be held one hour prior to the service in the church. INTERMENT: Middle Forest River Cemetery, Dahlen.