Arlen Erdahl, 92
Arlen Erdahl
Formerly of Frost – Arlen Erdahl, farmer, legislator, US Congressman, Minnesota Secretary of State, and dedicated public servant died peacefully, Sept. 21, 2023, at age 92, surrounded by family after a long journey with Alzheimer’s.
Arlen and twin Lowell were born to Christian and Ingeborg Erdahl on Feb. 27, 1931, were raised on a farm near Frost, and graduated from Blue Earth High School. At St. Olaf College Erdahl majored in Speech and excelled as a three season athlete and captain of the track team.
Erdahl served in the US Army at Ft. Riley, Kansas, and at the Tachikawa Air Base, Japan. He returned from military service to work the family farm.
St. Olaf alumna and Blue Earth music teacher Ellen Syrdal called to ask Arlen for a ride to see the Blue Earth Wrestling Team compete in the Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament. Things clicked and they married in 1958, raised six children, traveling from farm to various posts in St. Paul, Boston, Washington DC, and Kingston, Jamaica.
In 1965 Erdahl was in the first Bush Foundation Fellowship cohort, earning a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard and Congressional Fellowships with Michigan Rep. Gerald Ford and Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield.
Erdahl served eight years as Faribault County State Representative and four years as Minnesota Secretary of State, followed by an appointment to the Minnesota Public Service Commission. He served four years as US Representative to Minnesota’s First Congressional District. Erdahl’s politics prioritized agriculture, foreign affairs, the environment, helping individual constituents, and leveling playing fields, especially for the disabled. As a Minnesota Legislator he authored the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, advancing women’s rights. In Congress he joined the “Gypsy Moths,” an influential coalition of moderate Republicans who advanced social justice and curbed military excesses. Erdahl held presidential appointments as Jamaica Peace Corps Country Director, Associate Director of the US Peace Corps, and Assistant Secretary in the US Department of Energy.
Arlen and Ellen Erdahl returned to Minnesota in 1994 where Erdahl served as Executive Director of Minnesota International Health Volunteers, and was active in the UN Association of Minnesota, Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Growth and Justice, and Sons of Norway. In 2004 he served as Election Observer of historic elections in Ukraine. Erdahl was recognized for his public service by a 1999 Twin Cities International Citizens Award and a 2011 Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Award.
Erdahl was preceded in death by parents, Christian and Ingeborg Erdahl; brother, Lowell; and wife Ellen.
He is survived by in-laws Carol Erdahl and Fred and Jan Syrdal; children and in-laws, Rolf Erdahl and Carrie Vecchione, Eric Erdahl, John Erdahl, Lars and Molly Erdahl, Laura and Scott Weinberg, Kari and Eric Hagen; 14 grandchildren; and nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will be Oct. 14, 11 a.m., at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4100 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, with interment at Oaklawn Cemetery in Northfield. Visitation will be Oct. 13 from 5-8 p.m. at Gill Brothers Funeral Home, 5801 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Memorials can be directed to the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, the Peace Corps Fund, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, or an organization supporting international understanding, nature preservation, or support for the disabled.
Gill Brothers Funeral Home, 612-861-6088, www.gillbrothers.com