Obituary of Ewald Lofdahl

Ewald Delmar Lofdahl was born October 3, 1924, and raised on a farm near Vliets, KS. He attended country grade school and graduated from Frankfort High School. He married Lois Mae Hurtie on June 6, 1948. From this union, he had two boys, Glenn Albert Lofdahl on August 22, 1949, and David Lynn Lofdahl on May 22, 1953. Ewald farmed from the time he was a boy until he moved to Lindsborg in 1965. That is when he started working for International Harvester as a mechanic, first for Valley Equipment in Lindsborg, American Farm Supply in McPherson, and Dauer Implement in Falun and Salina where he retired. Ewald never met a stranger, and loved to talk with everyone he met. He loved to sing in Quartets, and sang in the Messiah for 45 years, as well as went to Carnegie Hall in New York with the group. He was a member of the Lions Club and enjoyed helping in the community. He enjoyed Swedish and was able to expand his reading and writing of the language with the help of classes and the Swedish Group. A personally highlight was when he was able to go to Sweden where he met many new friends. Ewald's hobby was collecting and restoring International Harvester tractors and equipment. He enjoyed going to auctions and shows and never missed a Hyllningsfest parade. With this hobby helped start the Flywheel Club in Salina, where he was a Post President. He also belonged to the Antique Club in Goessel. After retirement, Ewald enjoyed traveling the countryside with J.B. Warren, going to shows and collecting anything to do with I-H. Ewald was part of the first group of men to meet in Kansas to start the Kansas Chapter of International Harvester Collectors. Ewald lost his wife, Lois, on December 7, 1996, and his son, David, on September 9, 2009. Ewald went to be with the Lord on January 21, 2011, and will be deeply missed by all that knew him. Visitation will be from 4-7pm Monday at Christians Funeral Home. A Funeral Service will be held at 10:00am Tuesday at Bethany Lutheran Church. Burial will be held at Mission Covenant Church Cemetery in Axtell, KS at 2:30pm. Memorials may be designated to the Kansas Chapter of International Harvesters.