Otto 'Joe' Joseph Tegland

Otto Joseph (Joe) Tegland, age 91, of Belmond passed away Thursday, April 2, 2015 at the Iowa Specialty Hospital of Belmond.

Graveside memorial services for Joe Tegland will be held at 11:00 A.M. Monday, July 6, 2015 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Clarion.

Joe was born November 2, 1923 at the family farm located northwest of Clarion, the son of Otto Sr. and Rachael Marie Hefte Tegland. He was baptized on December 2, 1923 at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, rural Belmond and confirmed on July 3, 1938. He attended District No. 7 school in Norway Township and later transferred to Clarion, finishing the 8th grade. During that time he also helped with the farming with his father and brother. He met the love of his life, Frances Marie Rayl, at the local skating rink and the rest is history. They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on August 12, 2014. Until Frances passed away this year on March 1, 2015 they were the longest married couple still attending services at St. Olaf. Joe was a lifetime member.

They were married August 12, 1944 at the parsonage of the First Lutheran Church in Clarion. Joe and Frances were the parents of one daughter, Constance Marie, born on Joe's birthday, November 2, 1945. Joe worked for a local farmer when they were first married and later moved to their home located 9½ miles north of Clarion. He drove a Clarion school bus during the time Connie attended school in Clarion. He enjoyed playing fast pitch softball and umpired high school baseball. In 1979 they made the decision to move to Belmond where he took the position of custodian at the high school. He later was hired as a road maintainer for Wright County, retiring in 1989. After his retirement from the county he helped Connie and Bob at their farm southwest of Clarion. He loved to garden take care of their yard and sometimes helped with the flower gardens. He always enjoyed doing woodworking and made numerous projects for his family. Even with his health issues, he always insisted on doing his own yard work until two years ago. He loved being outside and working in the soil, being a true farmer at heart. It was his passion and he took it very seriously.

He is survived by his daughter, Connie Loux and husband, Bob of Clarion and their three children - Thomas (Stacy) of Sugarland, Texas, Matthew (Elaine) of Katy, Texas and Ellen (Troy) Krumm of Ankeny; seven grandchildren: Mandy, Derek, Bryce, Paige, Josh, Caleb and Owen; one sister, Ilene Kalkwarf of Belmond; one sister-in-law, Marilyn Schultz of Des Moines; nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Frances on March 1, 2015; parents, Otto and Rachel; seven brothers and sisters, one sister-in-law, Betty Carolus; two brothers-in-law, Robert Kalkwarf and Donald Schultz; nephews and cousins.