In Memory of Floyd Dalzell

Floyd Walker Dalzell, age 94 of Isanti died December 17, 2020 at home. The service will be Tuesday, December 29, 2020, at 11:00am. The viewing will be one hour before the service at Oxlip Evangelical Free Church in Isanti, MN. The service will be live-streamed on the Facebook page of Oxlip Evangelical Free Church. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to ReachNetwork, the church planting ministry of EFCA at https://give.efca.org/. Masks will be required for those attending the visitation and service.

Interment will be in Greenwood Cemetery in Thief River Falls.

Floyd Walker Dalzell was born as the youngest of eight children on April 12, 1926 in Grandview, Manitoba, Canada to Myrtle Florence and Royal Jackson Dalzell. He grew up in a Christian home, came to believe in Christ as his Savior at the age of 12, and was baptized at the age of 14. When he was 17, Floyd entered Bible school at the Alberta Baptist Academy, and he finished his studies at the Christian Training Institute in Edmonton, Alberta.

Floyd entered full-time ministry shortly after marrying his first wife, Pearl Geneva Trontvet, on September 26, 1946 at the Evangelical Free Church in Thief River Falls, MN. Together Floyd and Pearl traveled extensively leading the music ministry of his father’s evangelistic  meetings. In 1948, Floyd took on his first pastorate in the Presbyterian Church in Big Bay, MI, where he served for two years. After completing this ministry, he and Pearl moved back to her hometown, Thief River Falls, MN, where their six children were born and raised.

Setting the stage for his future ministry work across the US, Floyd obtained his US citizenship in 1953 and was ordained in the Evangelical Free Church of America in 1958. Over the next 17 years, Floyd and his older brother, Ron, hosted Message of Life, a radio ministry that aired on 8 radio stations. This radio exposure opened the door for evangelistic crusades in many churches throughout the Midwest, the Northwest, and Canada. During the school months Floyd had to travel alone so that the children could attend school, but it brought him much joy to travel with his entire family from June to Labor Day. As the “Musical Dalzells,” the family sang their way across the country living in their RV, conducting tent meetings, church crusades, Bible Camp Ministries, and Daily Vacation Bible Schools. As the crusade ministry transitioned to part-time in the 1990s Floyd served as head custodian at the Valley Home assisted living center in Thief River Falls, where he ministered to and encouraged the residents and the staff alike. 

Floyd and Pearl were married 49 years when Pearl passed away in 1995. Shortly thereafter, Floyd met Lucille Wipf, who had served as a missionary in Japan with the North American Baptist Church for 36 years, and they married on March 15, 1997. Floyd and Lucille made their home in Emery, SD for the next 20 years.

The final chapter of Floyd’s public ministry began when he joined the Interim Pastor Ministries of the Evangelical Free Church. Through this ministry, he served as interim pastor at multiple churches during periods of pastoral transition. Together Floyd and Lucille served in Newell, SD; Beulah, ND; Wilcox, NE; Avon, SD; Dexter, MO; and Marion, SD. After these pastorates, they held monthly services at Oakview Terrace, Freeman, SD; Diamond Care Center, Bridgewater, SD; and Firesteel Healthcare Center, Mitchell, SD. Floyd also delivered Meals on Wheels in Emery, SD for 5 years. Over the course of his ministry, Floyd personally served over 408 pastors and churches and impacted many thousands of individuals for Christ.

In 2017, at the young age of 91, Floyd began his retirement and moved with Lucille to Cambridge, MN to be closer to family. During retirement, Floyd and Lucille enjoyed making many friends, conducted a regular hymn sing every Saturday afternoon at their independent living apartment building, and attended Oxlip Evangelical Free Church. In the summer of 2020, they moved into his daughter’s home and were able to enjoy several wonderful last months together. They both fell ill in November 2020, and Lucille passed away exactly two weeks before Floyd. Floyd has long anticipated the joy of meeting his Savior, a joy proclaimed in one of his favorite songs:

But just think of stepping on shore

    And finding it Heaven

Of touching a hand 

    And finding it God’s

Of breathing new air

     And finding it celestial

Of waking up in glory

    And finding it home!!!

Left to remember Floyd are daughters, Joyce (Lee) Scheumann, Esther Rood, Pam (Gary) Forney, and son, Ross (Angie) Dalzell, daughter-in-law Sue Dalzell, sister-in-law Bobbie Trontvet, eighteen grandchildren, twenty-six great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Royal Jackson; mother, Myrtle Florence; brother, Ron (Marge) Dalzell; sisters, Ruth (Jake) Penner, Phyllis (Walter) Hoffman, and Thelma Dalzell; wives, Pearl Geneva and Lucille Betty; children, David LeRoy and Timothy Wayne; and great-grandchild, Theodore Scheumann.