Dagny Kahleck

Memorial services for Dagny Kahleck of Morris, Minnesota, will be held Friday, August 27, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church in Morris with Reverend Julius Miller officiating.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.  Burial will be held at a later date at Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery, Swan Lake Township.

Dagny Leona Westerlund was born on May 10, 1932, in Starbuck, Manitoba, Canada, to Gunnar and Thea (Metvedt) Westerlund.  She grew up in Starbuck, Manitoba where she attended grade and high school.  Following high school, Dagny left Manitoba to attend the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She had a strong interest in poetry and art.  While at a dance hall on Lake street, a young man insisted on getting Dagny on the dance floor.  That night, after the dance, they had dinner at White Castle and it was from that night that their romance ensued.  That young man’s name was Arthur Kahleck.  As the story goes, Dagny majored in Art and then married Art.  Dagny left art school and moved to Art’s family farm in Morris, Minnesota.  The two were married in Morris on February 7, 1952.  They remained on the farm where they welcomed three boys.

Dagny continued to express her art in her sewing, painting, quilting and cooking.  One of her most special meals was “Dagny’s Lasangy.”  She and Art had a love of square dancing and she created many beautiful costumes for them.  She also sewed many of her son’s clothing, including the infamous lime green leisure suit that Curtis loves to the day.  When Dagny’s first grandson, Mickey, was born in Germany, she flew by herself there to meet him.  While she was there, she took advantage of all that Europe had to offer from Germany to Paris, all by herself in the 70’s. She and Art loved to travel as well and took several bus tours all over the US and Canada.  She pushed mowed her huge lawn every summer because she wanted the exercise, despite the fact that the neighbors thought that her sons were neglectful to not be doing it for her!

Dagny died peacefully on Saturday, August 21, 2021, at her home at Skyview Plaza in Morris.  She lived to 89 years.

Dagny is survived by her husband of 69 years, Art of Morris; her sons: Michael (Linda) of Raleigh, NC, Gregory of El Cajon, CA, and Curtis (Denise) of Savage; 11 grandchildren: Mickey (Kris) Kahleck, Torry (Kristen) Kahleck, Paige Kahleck, Nick Kahleck, Jacob Kahleck, Karl Kahleck, Artie Kahleck, Cheyenne Kahleck, Marshalla Kahleck, Blake Olson and Phillip Olson; four great-grandchildren: Leo Kahleck, Lyra Kahleck, Cal Kahleck, and Grace Olson; and brother-in-law, Glen Macdonald of Skiff Lake, New Brunswick, Canada.   She is preceded in death by her grandson Christopher Kahleck; her parents; and her siblings: Agnes Upham, Thelma Macdonald, Harold Westerlund, Walter Westerlund, Dolly Gemby, and Edna McLean.

Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in care of arrangements for Dagny.