Robert "Bob" Holdahl

Robert “Bob” Holdahl, age 74, of Yankton, South Dakota, died Wednesday, February 2, 2022, at his home. A memorial service will be 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 5, 2022, at Discovery Church in Yankton with Reverend Cory Kitch officiating.  The service will be live streamed and can be viewed at www.facebook.com/discoverychurchyankton.  Burial will be at a later date in Green Hill Cemetery in Lemmon, South Dakota.  The family will receive friends one hour prior to the memorial service on Saturday at the church.  Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Yankton.  In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Discover Church. Honorary pallbearers will be Don Holdahl, Tom Holdahl, Tim Holdahl, Jim Holdahl, Walter Barnes, Wayne Barnes and Willard Barnes. Bob Holdahl was born November 8, 1947, in Hettinger, North Dakota, to Morris and Vera (Jennings) Holdahl.  He grew up on the border of South Dakota and North Dakota near Lemmon, South Dakota.  He attended country school and graduated from Lemmon High School in 1965.  He enlisted into the United States Air Force and served in Vietnam as a Radar Bomb Scorer for the B-52 Bomber.  He returned to Lemmon and married Mary Barnes on August 31, 1969 in Lemmon.  They moved to Brookings, South Dakota where Bob received his Bachelors Degree in Mathematics from South Dakota State University in 1972.  He joined the Marine Corps and lived all over the United States.  While in the Marines, he attended Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California and received his Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics.  Bob was deployed several times while in the Marines and was an Electronic Counter Measures Officer.  He retired from the Marine Corp as a Major in 1989. Along the way Bob & Mary adopted four children, Jim (James), when they lived in North Carolina, Heath, when living in Washington state, Tessa (Natesha), when living in Maryland, and Navah, when living in South Dakota. Although he was often deployed abroad with the military, Bob loved spending time with his children and would often send care packages home to his family when deployed. He enjoyed reading books on tape, finding interesting toys, and would eventually start making videos once the technology existed. Following his time in the Marine Corps they lived in Pensacola, Florida, where Bob worked various jobs until 1998, when they moved to Yankton, South Dakota.  Bob worked for Vishay Dale Electronics for a few years, and again at various jobs, finally retiring from Midcontinent Communications in Yankton.  Bob was a quiet, intelligent, strong, generous man who truly had a servant’s heart.  He was a very active member of Discovery Church in Yankton and helped whenever it was needed.  He had his pilot’s license and enjoyed flying and traveling all over the United States.  He enjoyed working with his hands and loved spending time with his family and grandson, Caleb. Survivors include his wife, Mary Holdahl of Yankton; three children: Heath (Amanda) Holdahl of Overland Park, Kansas; Tessa Hanson of Yankton; and Navah (Andrew) Den Herder of Sioux Center, Iowa; grandson, Caleb; four brothers: Don (Tami) Holdahl of St. Maries, Idaho; Tom (Nanci) Holdahl of Buffalo, South Dakota; Tim (Bev) Holdahl of Dickinson, North Dakota; and Jim (Carole) Holdahl of Watertown, South Dakota; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Jim Holdahl; Jim’s fiancé, Taronda; brother, Ron, and several nieces and nephews.  

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