ROBERT D. DYSTHE

Bob Dysthe was born on April 15, 1934, in Iona, Minnesota to Clifford (C.H./Tiffy) and Florance (Laible) Dysthe. He grew up on his family farm west of Iona and attended District #68 Country School. His mother was his teacher for a few years during the teacher shortage of WWII. He went on to attend Chandler High School and after graduation, Bob worked on the farm before volunteering for the Draft in the United States Army. After bootcamp and radio school at Camp Gordon in Georgia, he served 9 months in the Republic of Korea as a Forward Air Controller. He completed his military service in Honolulu, HI and was honorably discharged on February 15, 1955. Bob met the love of his life, Kathleen Tressa Douma on November 2, 1948, and they dated throughout high school. They were married at the newly built Chandler Reformed Church on May 17, 1955. Bob worked for McCormick Appliance in Slayton for two years, before they moved to the farm in 1957. They started their dairy operation with 2 cows and 2 bred heifers. Over the years, the herd expanded and upon their retirement they were milking approximately 200 cows. Bob was baptized and made Confession of Faith at the Iona Presbyterian Church. Once married, he became a member of the Chandler Reformed Church and over his 67 years of membership he served on Consistory for 27 years, taught Sunday School and Catechism classes, was an RCYF Sponsor, belonged to Men’s Brotherhood and served on multiple committees. Bob was also very involved in the Dairy Industry and served on multiple boards including AMPI Corporate Treasurer, DHIA, and Midland UDIA. While he enjoyed dairy farming, his first love was his horses and ponies. He got his first pony, Bess, when he was 6 years old and for the next 74 years, he had multiple horses and ponies. There were many horse, pony and pony cart rides enjoyed by all and he passed the love of horses down to his daughters. Bob loved spending time as a family showing cattle and horses at the local and state 4-H level. There were times that they had at least a dozen head of cattle at the fair. Once chores were done for the day, he enjoyed going to Lake Sarah to go boating and later bought a place on Lake Shetek to spend even more time on and near the water with family. He also collected classic cars and tractors. Bob passed away at the Murray County Medical Center in Slayton on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at the age of 88.

Bob is survived by his wife Kathleen, his five children, Debra Gray of Cameron, MO, Daniel (Trish) Dysthe of Slayton, MN, Diane (Bud) Zitzmann of Rochester, MN, Darlene (Walter) Pickup of Apple Valley, MN, and Douglas Dysthe of Luverne, MN. He leaves behind 17 grandchildren and 25 (and counting) great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one son, Duane, son-in-law, David Gray, his parents, and his brother, Roger Dysthe.

Funeral services were held at Chandler Reformed Church in Chandler, MN on Monday, April 25, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. with Rev. Seth Atsma and Rev. Walter Pickup officiating, with special music by Greg and Maddie Vander Wal, and Myron Hulstein. The pallbearers were his grandsons, Jesse Gray, Jason Dysthe, Erik Kafka, Lance Kafka, Micah Muller, Lee Pickup, Matthew Muller, Jerred Gray, Alex Dysthe and Austin Pickup. Interment was at Chandler Memorial Cemetery in Chandler, MN.

Visitation was on Sunday, April 24, 2022, at the Chandler Reformed Church in Chandler from 4-7 p.m. and one hour prior to the services at the church on Monday. Totzke Funeral Home of Slayton was entrusted with arrangements. To send condolences, visit totzkefuneralhome.com.