Raymond Marvin Pallesen

RENO - Another of the “Greatest Generation” has died. My dad, Ray Pallesen (August 9, 1923 - June 8, 2019), was the youngest of nine children born on a farm in rural Neligh, Nebraska to a Danish immigrant father and a first generation mother whose parents were also Danish.

Dad was 19 when he enlisted in the Army. During basic training they looked at Dad’s background and asked if he knew how to fix tractors. He said he could (he’d been driving them since he was 12) and guessed that he’d be sent to Europe as part of a tank corps. But after testing, they found he had an aptitude for communications, and he served as a high speed radio operator in North Africa during World War II. After coming home in 1945, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, was aided by the GI Bill, and graduated in 1949 with a BS degree in Agricultural Statistics. He wanted me to tell you: “Please thank the American taxpayers for my college education.” And I want to thank him for his service to our country.

During his senior year, he met and fell in love with Ruth Flowers. Between courting her, part-time jobs, and his studies, Dad still found time to attend football games. They were married in 1948. Throughout their marriage, they continued to be Cornhuskers: Go Big Red!! And in 1996, Dad and Mom helped establish the alumni chapter of Northern Nevadans for Nebraska, and enjoyed many game watches at Bully’s.

Continuing his service to our country, Dad’s career at the U.S. Department of Agriculture took our family to Iowa, Washington, DC, Nevada, and Oregon. Lifelong friendships were formed across the country. It was a good life for my parents, sister, brother, and me.

A few things I’d like to share with you about how to live to be 95 5/6 years old:

~Work hard and retire young

~Drink a daily glass of red wine

~Do puzzles (Sudoku, Word Jumbles, etc.) every day

~Play golf for 60+ years

~Love your wife for 70+ years

~Make time for your kids

~Smile and be grateful

~Be kind to all your family and friends

~Serve and donate to your community & church, where & when you can

Tom Brokow wrote about people like my father, who came of age during the Great Depression and went on to contribute to the war effort, saying that these men and women did not fight for fame or recognition, but because it was the “right thing to do.” That’s Dad. A famous quote from Pericles, “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”

Mom died in August 2018...Dad joined her in June 2019. I miss you, Mom and Dad. I love you, Carol

[The Celebration of Life for Ray Pallesen is October 26, 2019, 3:00pm, Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, 1660 Grandview, Reno, NV. They were members of this loving church for 26 years.]