Marion “Swede” Dale Hjelmeng, 90, of Elkader, passed away Friday, June 30, 2017, at the Elkader Care Center. Swede was born June 10, 1927, in West Union, to Sverre and Elva (Oleson) Hjelmeng. He attended school in West Union and Elkader and, after a year in the United States Navy, he went to Elkader Junior College for one year. On November 6, 1948, he was married to Lois Larson at Norway Lutheran Church.
Swede was employed by Northwestern Bell Telephone Company for 37 years. He then worked for AT&T for one year, retiring in 1984. Following his retirement, he was self-employed with his own telephone service company until April 1, 2003.