Merle Rendahl 1921-2009

Merle Rendahl 1921-2009

This is the companion page to a YouTube video at http://youtu.be/yg8PQyJUwc8. This video is also shown at the bottom of this page.

There is some additional information about Merle on this page that didn't fit on the YouTube video page:

In 2001, Dave (my brother) and Ann (my sister) both living in central California, sent a bunch of family photos to me in Las Vegas to make a commemorative video for our mom's 80th birthday. Us kids (growing up) and our dad are well represented in this video as well.

After our dad died in 1995, mom moved from Minnesota to central California too. Then she (and her cat, Sparkle) moved to Las Vegas in 2003 so that I and Debbie (the wife of my music business partner, Alex) could take care of her. Which we did until she died at home on September 11, 2009. We showed this video at her memorial in Las Vegas and funeral in Winona, Minnesota. Ann wrote a nice obituary and presented it at the services in a light and laughing way that mom would have liked! Here it is:

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Obituary for Merle Irene (Graskamp) Rendahl

Merle was born on August 13, 1921, the second of three daughters, to Frank and Mabel (Swenson) Graskamp, in Fountain, Minnesota.

Merle graduated from Preston High School in 1939 and then graduated from Winona State Normal School with a two-year teaching degree.

On April 30, 1944, Merle married Raymond Rendahl. The couple lived in McAllen, Texas; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Ostrander, Minnesota; before settling down in Austin, Minnesota. By this time, all three of their children (Roy, David, and Ann) had been born. One more move took them to their final family residence in Winona, Minnesota.

Merle was a stay-at-home mother. She was a long-time member of Sons of Norway, and she worked as an election judge on election days. She enjoyed baseball — especially the Twins — and rummage sales and clipping newspaper articles. She was known for giving out delightful homemade bookmarks. Merle never had a bad word to say about anyone, and she was cheerful and positive in all situations. She lived out her deep faith in all areas of her life.

Merle was always quite involved in the Lutheran church: making long banners that enhanced the sanctuary, drawing large posters for special events, preparing communion as an altar guild worker, singing in the choir, attending every worship service available, and participating in women’s circle meetings and other women’s group projects and events.

Merle became a widow shortly after she and Ray celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary. She spent one more year in Winona, the next seven years in Clovis, California, and her final six years in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Merle was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and her two sisters, Donna Rustad and Helen Dunbar.

Merle is survived by her three children, Roy Rendahl of Las Vegas, Nevada; Dave Rendahl of Visalia, California; and Ann Aakre of Selma, California. She is also survived by two grandsons, Ryan Rendahl and Matthew Rendahl of Visalia, California. Her cat, Sparkle, is missing her, as well.

Two services honored the life of Merle: A Memorial Service was held at Reformation Lutheran Church in Las Vegas on Friday, Sept. 25, 2009. A Funeral Service was held at Central Lutheran Church in Winona on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, with Pastor Jeff Franko officiating. Burial followed at Woodlawn Cemetery in Winona.

The family suggests that memorials in Merle’s name be made to Reformation Lutheran Church, 580 E. St. Louis Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89104, or to the giver’s local S.P.C.A.

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Ann also wrote some more info about Merle too:

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Other facts and tidbits about Merle’s life: Part 1 (Merle’s early years)

The name Merle means “blackbird,” so our mom loved blackbirds.

Merle’s name rhymes with pearl. (At our dad’s funeral, the pastor kept saying, “Mer-lee” instead of “Merle”.)

Merle’s mom’s mom was from Pilot Mound, which the locals call “Peekin.” Grandma Swenson (Dena Jackson Swenson) was the youngest of 13 children and was born in the United States. (Pilot Mound, probably) Her brothers and sisters were all born in Norway.

Merle’s mother had been adopted by Dena and Martin Swenson and named “Mabel.” Her given name at birth was Betty Bjork. (It was on her deathbed that Mabel revealed her birth name, to our Aunt Helen. It had been kept secret before that time.)

Merle’s mother, Mabel, was playing the piano (or organ) at a dance one time, when she saw a stranger walk into the room/dance hall. She said, “That’s the man I’m going to marry.” And she did marry him!

Merle’s dad, Frank, ran a hardware store in Fountain with his brother, Ernie.

Merle remembers her mother regularly making sandwiches for hobos who would ride the rails. Merle thinks the hobos had a code to let other hobos know that food would be given out at the Graskamp house. Their house was also right next to the Catholic church, which may have been another reason hobos came knocking.

Many of Merle’s happiest memories revolve around her Grandma Ida and the house where Grandpa Henry and Ida lived. The grandparents’ home was only a block or two away from Merle’s house. Grandma Ida’s cat, Suzy, had a son named Jerry, and the two cats were identical. Jerry was given to Merle’s family and was scared to death of dogs. Suzy was a good mouser, and she would actually intimidate dogs. When a dog would encounter one of the identical cats, the dog would wait for the cat to react; if the cat did not go after him, then the dog knew it was Jerry and would begin the chase. Grandma Graskamp would make a black mark on her cat’s nose, so she knew it was her cat and could be let into the house. Merle (and probably her sister, too) loved to draw an identical black mark on their cat, Jerry, to fool their Grandma.

While in grade school, Merle and a friend once (or more than once?) hung from their knees from a railroad bridge, swinging right over the highway. Cars stopped because they were afraid to drive under the girls.

Merle was a good speller; she made it to the Minnesota State Fair to compete in state-wide spelling bees.

While in high school, Merle would stop at the local tavern once a week to play poker with the men on her way home from choir practice at church.

Merle enjoyed being in 4-H. (I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.) She met her future husband, Ray, through 4-H, when she was in junior high and he was in senior high. He was from the town of Ostrander, also in Fillmore County.

Merle graduated with a teaching degree (which only took two years to complete back in the early 1940s) with the plan of teaching kindergarten (I think). It seems like she taught for a very-brief time (a few weeks, possibly) and quickly decided it wasn’t for her. She worked for a lumberyard and in business offices before the children came.

Merle and Ray were married during one of Ray’s furloughs from the army. It seems like she had one week to prepare for the wedding. Her sister, Helen, decided to get married in the same ceremony, making it a double wedding. Helen only had a day or two to prepare for the wedding, and she popped the question to her husband-to-be, Earl.

Merle’s mother died only seven months after Merle’s wedding. Mable died in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, of complications from a burst appendix. (…or was it pancreatitis?)

Merle’s Favorite poem:

There’s a place I travel
When I want to roam,
And nobody knows it but me.
The roads don’t go there,
And the signs stay home,
And nobody knows it but me.

It’s far, far away
And way, way afar,
It’s over the moon and the sea,
And wherever you’re going
That’s wherever you are,
And nobody knows it but me.
-Patrick O’Leary

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Other facts and tidbits about Merle’s life: Part 2 (Merle’s adult years)

Merle liked Amelia Earnhardt and really wanted to be a pilot someday. The funny thing is that her kids all knew Merle to be afraid of flying.

While living in Austin, Minnesota, Merle had a huge garden in the backyard, the envy of the neighborhood. Ruby, the neighbor next-door, would watch out her window and go outside to water her garden when she saw Merle going out to water her garden. Each autumn, when all the garden plants were picked or wilted, Merle’s two boys were given the garden so they could dig. And they dug a huge hole every fall. (Trying to get to China.)

Merle gave her children a lot of free reign. But she made sure they were respectful to other people. One time Merle asked the babysitter how well the two boys behaved while she was gone. The babysitter smiled and said, “Oh, boys will be boys.” That was enough. The two boys got spankings after the babysitter left.

Merle loved to clip articles out of newspapers and magazines. If one of her kids needed information or pictures — on any topic — for a school report or for whatever, she would grab the big box from under her bed, look through all the carefully-labeled brown-paper sacks, then hand over priceless articles that were sure to bring an A+.

Merle was always looking for ways to give gifts to people she knew... and to their children... and to the friends of those children. When she discovered the sport of saling (that is, rummage sale-ing) her home quickly filled up with items intended for a number of special people, such as a music box she bought for her sister’s daughter’s son’s girlfriend.

Another reason Merle liked to go rummage saling was to find odd, unique, obsolete contraptions to give as gifts at family birthday parties. When the birthday person unwrapped the strange thing-a-ma-jig, Merle would say, “Everybody take a guess. What do you think it is?” In fact, when the family got together for a birthday party, everybody got several gifts, thanks to Merle.

Here’s an example of how Merle believed the very best about every person she knew. She once bought a car from the Kitahara Car Dealership in Fresno. And then every couple weeks, for one whole year, something on the car would break down, so she’d take it back in to Kitahara. Each time she took it in, she’d smile and apologize to them for making them work so hard on her behalf.

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P.S. Mom's cat, Sparkle, died on December 2, 2011 in Las Vegas.

P.P.S. I originally made this video on VHS tape in 2001. Now I finally digitized it to upload to YouTube.

Roy Rendahl