Robert E. Ohrlund

May 22, 1925 - February 21, 2021

Robert E. Ohrlund, age 95, of Storm Lake, Iowa died on Sunday, February 21, 2021 at the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center in Storm Lake. Family memorial services will be held on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Storm Lake. The live stream of the service will be available through the St. Mark Lutheran Church Facebook page. Burial will be in the Buena Vista Memorial Park Cemetery in Storm Lake. Public visitation will take place on Thursday, February 25, 2021 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in STORM LAKE. Masks are required for all guests in attendance. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be given to St. Mark Lutheran Church at 1614 W 5th St, Storm Lake, IA 50588 or to Methodist Manor Retirement Community at 1206 W 4th St, Storm Lake, IA 50588. The Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake is in charge of the arrangements. Robert was born May 22, 1925 in Des Moines, Iowa, to Alma and Victor Ohrlund, their first child. He graduated from Iowa Falls High School in 1943 and enrolled in the US Army Air Corps, serving from 1943-1946. While studying navigation at the University of Cincinnati, Bob met Dorothy Bratton, and they were married in Memphis, Tennessee in April 1945. After Robert’s honorable discharge as a 2nd Lieutenant, he attended Ellsworth Junior College in Iowa Falls, transferred to the University of Iowa, and graduated from the College of Pharmacy in 1950. His first position as a pharmacist was at Ressler Drug Company in Storm Lake, working for John J. Ressler. A number of years later he became the owner of Ressler Drug and was active in business and pharmaceutical groups. He was President and a long-time member of the Storm Lake Chamber of Commerce, and he also served as President of the Storm Lake Kiwanis Club, where he attained 62 years of perfect attendance. Professionally, he held leadership positions in the Iowa Pharmacist Association and the American Pharmaceutical Association. Bob’s service extended to the greater Storm Lake community, where he engaged in a wide range of activities over the years. He was a member of the Planning and Zoning Board, a Little League baseball coach, a trumpeter in the ZauerKraut Band, and President of the Storm Lake Community Theater Group, appearing in several of its musicals. He served as a member and Chair of the Storm Lake Municipal Airport Commission, as well as the President of the Iowa Public Airports Association. He supported Buena Vista College/University, including as Co-Chair of the Order of the Arch. He was also active in the Northwest Iowa American Scandinavian Society. More recently, he co-chaired the committee that raised funds for the AWAYSIS/King’s Pointe project, and he worked to successfully solicit donations for the lighthouse at Highway 71 and a grand piano for the high school. At one point he and Dorothy even dressed as George and Martha Washington and gave elementary school presentations. Bob and Dorothy were founding members of St. Mark Lutheran Church, where he was the first church secretary, and later its treasurer and president, and a 40-year member of the choir. As important as his business and community activities were, Robert was above all devoted to family: his wife, Dorothy, ten great-grandchildren, fourteen grandchildren, and his five children: Bonnie Ericson (Daniel Blake), Barbara Johnson, John (Terry) Ohrlund, Beverly (Stanley) Reuter, and Curtis (Erin) Ohrlund. In retirement, Bob enjoyed traveling with Dorothy, working with the group responsible for the Storm Lake Parade of Flags, earning his status as a Master Gardener, and maintaining close friendships from over the years. For more than the past ten years, Bob cared for Dorothy as she lived with the increasing challenges of dementia; after he had a fall, they moved to Methodist Manor in 2016, where he continued to help care for Dorothy until she passed away in January 2020. They were married nearly 75 years.