Carol L. Dahl

Carol L. Dahl of Fort Collins died peacefully Sunday, February 17, 2013 in the loving arms of her caregiver. Carol was born in Fort Collins June 27, 1926 on Oak Street and lived in Fort Collins her entire life. She loved Colorado in all of its vast beauty, and loved to drive and travel through it often. As a 1944 graduate of Fort Collins High School, she had many long standing friendships with other locals, who gathered periodically to recall times of a smaller town, less confusion and old times. In the spring of 1945, Carol met the love of her life, Eddie Dahl. After their blind date turned to a serious courtship, that then soon turned to love, Eddie's duties as a US Army soldier were coming due and shortly before his being shipped overseas; they married in June of 1945. They had a long, happy marriage of 64 years that had many blessings: dancing together, traveling and Eddie always admiring his beautiful bride… Their marriage was also blessed with two daughters; Susan Dahl Pruitt and her husband Steve of Lyons, CO and Rebecca Dahl McGraw and her husband Paul, of Fort Collins. Family was Carol's absolute life love, treasure and passion. She enjoyed every moment that she was blessed with any family visits; from Christmas Eve traditions she began 65 years ago that the family still upholds today, to simple cookie and tea talks on the back porch. Nothing was more important to her than family. She has five grandchildren; Melissa McGraw Grogan and her husband Sean of Windsor, Colorado, Megan McGraw Knowlton and her husband Buck of Fort Collins, Allison McGraw of Fort Collins, Nathan Pruitt of Dustin, Oklahoma and Joshua Pruitt of Lyons, Colorado. She was also blessed with six great-grandchildren: Connor Grogan of Fort Collins, Katy Grogan of Windsor, Dillon Knowlton of Fort Collins, Jessica Knowlton of Tucson, Arizona; Camden Knowlton of Fort Collins and Aubrey Knowlton of Fort Collins. They all loved and cherished their Nana dearly and will miss her presence in their lives. A life-long family friend, Bob Florin of California, was a wonderful part of her life, which she loved dearly. She was a wonderful wife, mother, sister, aunt and Nana who made a wonderful impact in the lives of so many. She is further survived by two of her four sisters, Billie Nielsen and her two daughters, Linda Rich Baker and Tonia Brad Frye, all of Red Feather Lakes, Colorado and JoAnn Don Boyce of Shawnee, Oklahoma and their two sons, Danny and David also of Oklahoma. Additionally, Carol was 'Aunt Carol' to so many; Sharon, Alan, Lynnette and Kevin, all of whom are in the Denver area. Carol's family spanned even further than her Colorado home. When she married Eddie, he had been born and raised in Minnesota, and as such, she has always considered his family there, as her own; His sister, Phyllis Olsen and her daughter, Diane Dave Anderson, all in the Minneapolis area, and David Andrea Olsen of Tacoma, Washington; Eddie's brother Warren Arlene Dahl and their children, Steven Mickey Dahl all of Minneapolis and his daughter, Carolyn Rich. Recently, Carol's life was blessed with meeting her wonderful caregiver, a friend of the family, Katie Kachidurian and her husband, George Wist of Loveland. After only a brief time of knowing Carol, they opened their home to her and gave her amazing love and compassion daily. Their dogs, Maggie, Toby and Ginny brought further joy to her heart and made her feel at home and so welcomed into their lives. Her family is eternally grateful for the immense love and care she received there and considers Katie and George family. For many years, Carol worked a variety of part-time jobs, of which her favorite was the CSU Bookstore; Carol regaled stories for many years about that job and its experiences…CSU was a passion for the Dahl family. From enjoying the 38 years of dedicated work and service her husband, Eddie put in at the physical plant there, to always rooting the Rams on, to then go on and see her grandchildren and now oldest great grandson, Connor, graduate as a CSU Ram, Colorado State had a special place in Carol's heart. Aside from the CSU Bookstore, her primary occupation and passion was being a homemaker. She so loved creating a warm, comfortable home for the girls to come home to and always made sure their clothes and hair were "just so" before leaving for school, church or playing with friends. As they grew and her responsibilities changed, she still enjoyed keeping a beautiful home. One of her many talents included interior decorating and taking someone else's 'junk' and creating beautiful keepsake furniture. As a homemaker Carol was always able to make anyone feel at home wherever she was. Carol had a passion for loving Jesus and we as her family know she is dancing the streets of gold with her dear-heart, Eddie right now! She was active for many years as a member of St. John's Lutheran Church, First Christian Church of Fort Collins, The First Christian Church of Windsor and most recently Harbor of Hope Free Methodist Church of Fort Collins. One of Carol's most treasured memories was accepting Jesus as her Savior, and she loved to pray, and did so right up to the end; always wanting to thank Jesus for our many blessings, in spite of life challenges and she always ended every prayer with, "I love you Lord." One of her favorite Bible verses was Isaiah 40:8 which says "The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever." Carol Dahl was a dear soul and would want to be remembered as the sweet, yet feisty heart she was. She leaves behind many family and friends, including her little dog, Mitzi, who happily resides with Carol's daughter, Susan and her husband, Steve at their home in Lyons. She was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters, two brothers and her husband. She will be dearly missed, yet forever loved and treasured by her family. A memorial service will be held Thursday, 11:00 a.m. at Bohlender Funeral Chapel.