Allen Dalberg

MISSOULA - Allen Hjalmer Dalberg, 75, passed away Tuesday, January. 27, 2009, at St. Patrick Hospital.





He was born September. 22, 1933 in Deary, Idaho. At five, he moved with his family to Moscow, Idaho. During his school years in Moscow, he became an outstanding athlete, and twice he was selected for boys’ state. During his childhood he spent many happy summers in Montana with his sister, Marge, and her family.





Al joined the Air Force in 1953 and was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. While there he met his future wife, Julie, of Biloxi, at church. (Being a tease, he always said that they met in a bar.)





In 1955, he was sent to Tachikawa AFB in Japan, where he spent the next two years. Upon his discharge in 1957, he and Julie were married in Biloxi.





They returned to Moscow, where Al attended the University of Idaho. In 1962, after accepting a position with U.S. Customs, he and Julie and their two young daughters moved to Sunburst, where he spent the first seven years of his Customs career. During 1963, the family grew to five with the birth of Allen Jr.





In 1969, Al took a U.S. Customs position in Houston, where they lived until 1982. Al could hardly wait to get back to his beloved Montana, so he took a position in Raymond and worked his way west.





He retired from U.S. Customs in 1989, and he and Julie moved to the Seattle area to be near family. During their nine years there, Al worked for Marymoor Parks and Recreation, and then Rocket Research and Olin Aerospace. He was part of the team responsible for the capsule that held the parachute that safely landed equipment on Mars. Somewhere on the red planet, that capsule, with Al’s name and those of the other team members engraved on it, lies waiting for the Martians to find it.





In 1999, Al and Julie, along with Julie’s sister and husband, moved to Biloxi to be near, and to help care for Julie’s handicapped brother, George. After George’s death, they once again returned to Al’s beloved Montana in 2002, where he worked for Missoula Parks and Recreation until shortly before his death.





Al was a marathon man. He ran marathons all around the U.S., including Honolulu, and while in London, he ran the London Marathon. His favorite was the New York City Marathon, where he enjoyed running through the Burroughs, a trip through many cultures.





He and Julie loved to hike the hills in and around Missoula, and got lost on more than one. How he loved the views from those high hills.





Al loved reading, especially good police stories. He spent many an hour at his old desk that he made in high school, reading a book and listening to his music.





He was a member of Atonement Lutheran Church.





Al was preceded in death by his parents, Petra and Hjalmer Dalberg; his sister, Marjorie Stevenson; his brothers, Lavern and Glen Dalberg; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.





He is survived by his wife Julie; and their three children, Dixie DiStefano (Ricco), Vicki Setzler (Eric), and Allen Jr. (Bev); his grandchildren: Zachary, Benjamin, and Christopher Setzler, Madison and Parker Truesdell, Grayson and Olivia Dalberg, and Dominic and Danielle DiStefano. He is also survived by several cousins and many nieces and nephews, including Carol and Pete DeWit of Missoula. Also surviving him is a special sister-in-law, Lillian Dalberg, of Orofino, Idaho.





A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, January. 31, at Atonement Lutheran Church, 2205 34th Street, Missoula.





In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Atonement Lutheran Church or a charity of your choice.






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