Obituary of Irving Hoiland

Irving Stanley Hoiland, 82, most recently of the Minnesota Veterans Home, Luverne, MN, died on May 13th, 2010. Irving Stanley Hoiland, son of Sam and Inga (Vemmestad) Hoiland, was born April 8, 1928, in Luverne, MN. He attended school in Rock County, MN, and on two different occasions ventured back to Norway with his family where they resided on a farm near Lyngdal. Irving was a Private First Class in the US Army Infantry during the time of the Korean War. He served overseas in Germany and Austria, working primarily as a mechanic and truck driver. He received his Honorable Discharge from the Army in 1953 and from the Army Reserve in 1960. After his discharge from the military, he attended the Dunwoody Institute in the Twin Cities to become a welder and became a life-long member of the Boilermaker's Union. Irving worked as a welder on the construction of the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River in South Dakota. He also worked on the oil fields in North Dakota. Upon return to Minnesota, he purchased his farm near Harris, where he worked and farmed until he entered assisted living in 2003. For the next few years, he continued to ride his bike to his farm to "tinker around" and see some of his beloved cats. Survivors include his sister-in-law, Gertrude Hoiland, Pipestone, MN; nephews and nieces, Terry (Charlotte) Hoiland, Miles City, MT; Tim (Ruth) Hoiland, Sherman, SD; Marietta (Dick) Dubbelde, Sherman, SD; Rosanne (Tom) Krier, Sioux Falls, SD; and Becky (Dave) Dobson, Springfield, MN, along with a host of great nieces and nephews, great great nieces and nephews and friends. Also surviving Irving is his beloved Goddaughter, Nancy Jo Birkeland. Irving was preceded in death by his longtime companion, Margaret Murphy, his parents, his brother, Gene Hoiland and infant niece, Ann Rita Hoiland.