James Amdal

James (“Jim”) Amdal, 97, a resident of Fergus Falls, died peacefully on Friday, January 12, 2018, at his Linwood Court home, in the care of his children and LB Hospice.

The son of John and Julia (Severtson) Amdal, he was born on February 28, 1920, in Becker, Minnesota. As a very young child, his family moved to Lake Park, Minnesota where they owned and operated the Amdal mercantile on main street. Besides helping in the family store, he played school basketball and was in the band. His childhood home would later become the Amdal House museum and housed the local Historical Society, so he frequently took visitors there for a tour.

After graduating valedictorian from the Lake Park High School in 1938, James attended business school in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. At age 19, he began his legal investigation career with the I.L. Swanson Law Firm in Detroit Lakes. James often explained that it was his ability to write short hand that initially got him into this lifelong career.

James and his two siblings served in WWII. James served in the US Navy from 1942 to 1946, as Chief Quartermaster, navigating on the bridge of the USS Pandemus. His tour stretched from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, through the Panama Canal, and mostly to the South Pacific. It ended with an extended stay, docked in Shanghai, China. After his service, James returned to his job in Detroit Lakes. Then in 1952, he moved to Fergus Falls and continued his investigative work for the Dell Rosengren Law Firm, now known as the Pemberton Sorlie Rufer & Kershner Law Firm. Since James began his legal career in his teens, and continued occasionally to work for the Pemberton Law Firm into his 90s, he proudly claimed a single career that spanned nine decades.

He remained a bachelor until at age 34 when Gladys Mae Swenson danced into his life. After meeting at the Hillside Ballroom, they married on May 1, 1954 in Miltona, Minnesota. That same year, they built their lifelong home on Linwood Court in Fergus Falls. The neighborhood became very special. Neighbors quickly became lifelong friends, extra hands with home projects, coffee, dinner and camping companions, and co-Christmas light displayers. James was a family man. He and Gladys, together with their two children, enjoyed long dinners, playing whist, camping, helping the Grandmothers, traveling with their pop-up camper across the United States and Canada, and visits to relatives at Lake Carlos and in California, Seattle, and Scandinavia. When the grandkids came along, he and Gladys travelled often to the cities for their regular sports, music, and scouting events. James also was adventurous. He never turned down a chance to hike, and even hiked to the top of Preikestolen, otherwise known as Pulpit Rock, at age 83 with his family and relatives in Stavanger Norway.

Of all his hobbies, gardening was his favorite. After a long day at the office, he would change to his “work clothes” and tend to his flowers. He maintained a large perennial garden bordering his yard, and an even larger garden with his prized gladiolus. Every August, many benefited from the large harvest of glad’s. James also loved music, and only recently retired from playing bass drum with the Carlisle and 9th District Legion Bands. Other activities James enjoyed were attending local sports, reading numerous daily newspapers and publications, photography, cooking, snowmobiling, fishing trips, and deer hunting with The Carlisle Hunting Club - a group of lifelong friends and their descendants.

James was a member of First Lutheran Church (council and past president), Sons of Norway (past president), Otter Tail County Historical Society (board member), Minnesota Deer Hunters’ Association (life member), Minnesota Gladiolus Society (oldest living member), Elks, VFW and the American Legion. He volunteered regularly with his church, the OTC Historical Society and the Fergus Falls Veterans Home.

Preceding him in death were his wife of 54 years; his parents; his brother, John V. Amdal and his wife Lorna Amdal; his sister, Martha Gessling and her husband George Gessling; his brother-in-law James Swenson and his wives, Elizabeth and Kathleen; and a niece, Katherine Amdal.

Survivors include a son, Jack (Cheryl) Amdal of Plymouth, MN, formally of Wayzata; a daughter, Jane Amdal (Moheban) of Fergus Falls and Bloomington, MN; grandsons, Samuel and Zackary Moheban; step-granddaugthers: Kelli Varley and Jessi (Eric) Risch; five step great-grandchildren; nine nephews and nieces: David Amdal, Philip (Joan Webster) Amdal, Richard Gessling, Donald (Meriko) Gessling, James (Farkhanda) Gessling, Paul (Irene) Gessling, John (Gena Aiello) Swenson, Sandra Noble, and Deborah (Steven) Oppel; and numerous other dear cousins, family and friends.

Visitation: 5-7 p.m. Friday, January 19, 2018, with a 6:30 prayer service at the Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls, and resumes one hour prior to the service at the church
Service: 11 a.m. Saturday, January 20, 2018, at First Lutheran Church, Fergus Falls
Clergy: Reverend Marcus Kunz
Interment: First Lutheran North Cemetery, Fergus Falls
Military Participation: Fergus Falls V. F.W. Post 612 and American Legion Post 30
Arrangements are provided by the Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls
Online condolences may be sent to www.OlsonFuneralHome.com