Earl Davison

Earl Ellsworth Davison passed away on October 8, 2016, at the age of 94, at his home in Windmill Ponds Assisted Living in Alexandria, MN, where he lived for the past 12.5 years.

Earl was born on the family farm near Petrel, ND, on July 27, 1922. He attended country school and later attended Lemmon High School. When the drought and depression hit, they moved to Tintah, MN, in 1936 where he graduated from high school. He attended North Dakota State University and then transferred to Moorhead State where he was a math major and participated in track and football. The semester before graduation, he left college to join the service. He was disappointed when he was unable to join the war efforts due to poor eye sight and went home to farm.

It was at a dance in Wheaton where in met the love of his life, Delores Anna Falk. They were married on October 17, 1945. Two of their five children, Brent and Frank, went on to farm with Earl in the Tintah area.

Earl always said he never worked a day in his life…he loved farming. It was in his soul. His love of the rural way of life and the need to branch out encouraged him and a handful of others to bring the sugar industry to their area. Earl knew they needed an alternative crop and he figured sugar beets would do well there; he went on to start the Southern Red River Valley Sugar Beet Development Association in 1950. When no sugar company was interested in developing in their area, Earl and his neighbors struck out on their own. In 1973, The Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative opened in Wahpeton, ND. Earl was on the board of directors from 1973-1987. He was chairman from 1983-1986. He was also a member of the American Sugar Beet Growers Assn Board of Directors. Earl and Delores enjoyed extensive traveling and meeting new people while attending meetings all over the world.

In the late 1980's, he and Delores started spending their winters in Roadhaven Resort in Apache Junction, Arizona. He loved going to dances, having patio parties with their friends and neighbors, playing pinochle, golfing, and the warm weather. They wintered at Roadhaven for 26 years. Earl hated being alone without Delores. Now, Earl and Delores are together and once again dancing, but now they are "dancing in the sky".

Earl's pride and joy was his family. He loved family gatherings and watching his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He never wanted to miss out on anything, right up to the very end. He was a member of the Elks Lodge and the Cornerstone Masonic Lodge; he became a member of Calvary Lutheran Church when they moved to Alexandria in 2004. He also loved living at Windmill Ponds and playing pinochle. They were his second family. His humor and one-liners, along with his positive outlook on life, made him a favorite with the residents as well as the staff; he will never be forgotten there.

Earl is survived by his five children and their spouses, Pamela (Keith) Togstad, Brent (Barbara)Davison, Susan (Richard) Kvasager, Frank (Mary) Davison, and Shari (Mark) Dybdal, all of Minnesota; thirteen grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren; cousins, nieces, nephews, and all those whom he called friends.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 69 years, Delores, a brother, Robert (Doris) Davison, sister Elsie (Gordon) Anderson, and his parents Frank and Lula Davison.

Visitation will be on Thursday from 4:00-7:00 PM at the Anderson Funeral Home, Alexandria. Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 14, at 11:00 AM at Calvary Lutheran Church, Alexandria. Interment will be at the Riverside Cemetery, rural Nashua, MN, following the service.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful residents (friends) and staff at Windmill Ponds, Hospice of Douglas County staff (nurses, aides, and volunteers), his special singing friend, his Elder Network volunteer, and the wonderful private staff that cared for Earl until his death.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Windmill Ponds Assisted Living - Activities Department, attention: Chris Mattson.

Arrangements are with Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria.