Elmer G. Tangen

Elmer was born June 30, 1910 to Elling and Caroline Olson Tangen in Carpenter, Iowa. As a young boy they moved to Muskoda near Hawley, MN where he grew up and attended country school. Elmer farmed until he retired in 1975. He married Dorthea Olsen in 1934. Dorthea died in 1971. Elmer married Freda Rodke in 1973. Freda died in 1975. He then worked as a custodian for the I94 Rest Area near Moorhead, MN until 1990. For many years, he cared for the Silver Lake Cemetery. In February 2005, Elmer moved to Hawley Manor where he lived until July 2007 when he moved to Viking Manor in Ulen, MN. Elmer enjoyed his livestock, cutting wood, fishing and gardening. Elmer is survived by three sons, Jim Tangen, Eau Claire, WI, Eugene Donna Tangen, Hawley, MN and Curtis Tangen, Dayton, OH; three daughters, Sally Ernest Berland, Hamilton, MT, Joan West, St. Cloud, MN and Diane Steve Lamon, Central City, NE; two brothers, Melgard Annie Tangen, Hawley, MN and Leonard Tangen, Moorhead, MN; one sister, Clarice Alfred Amundson, Moorhead, MN; 17 grandchildren; great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents; wives, Dorthea and Freda; three children, Shirley, Janice and Glen; one sister, Agnes Halvorson; and two brothers, Elling and Selmer Tangen.