Kenneth Carl Dahlgren, 69, passed away on Sunday, April 19, 2015, at home in Kalispell. He fought a brave, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. 

Ken was born in Hutchinson, Minnesota, to Carl and Evelyn Dahlgren on Sept. 6, 1945. He grew up on a farm east of Kalispell and attended Montford Country School and Flathead High School. 

He joined the National Guard and spent six proud years in the 19th Special Forces as an airborne Green Beret. He worked at several local sawmills and worked at the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company until they closed in 2009. He gave them 42 years. 

He loved to farm, hunt, fish, ride horseback, and ride motorcycles, four-wheelers and snowmobiles. He loved to take his boat out on Flathead Lake and to play cribbage. He also enjoyed teaching cribbage to the fourth grade students at Evergreen School. He knew how to tell a good joke and his sense of humor was an inspiration to all around him. 

He was a casual guy, so dress casual. If you are working in the field, he said to “come as you are.”

Ken is survived by his loving wife, Susan, of 46 years; his sons, Rod Dahlgren and his wife Cathy of Powell, Wyoming, and Kevin Dahlgren of Seattle; grandchildren, Ashley, Tyler, Chase, Kelsey, Amanda, Kristyn and Ryan; great-grandchildren, Vivienne, Mylah, Ellie and Max; sisters, Enola Lea of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bonnie Marchessault and Jules of Dillon, and Jeane Foster and Steve of Kalispell; brother, Rick Dahlgren, of Kalispell; sister- and brothers-in-law and nieces and nephews. He was so proud of all his family and loved them deeply. He was so loved by many.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at the Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home. A celebration of his life will follow at the Eagles Lodge, Kalispell.  

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home is caring for Ken’s family. You are invited to go to www.jgfuneralhome.com to offer condolences and view Ken’s tribute wall.