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Arild Dean Hagberg, 87, died Thursday, March 5, 2026, at his home in Lindstrom with his wife Betty at his side.

Born Dec. 8, 1938, in Hutchinson, Minn., Arild was the sixth child of Adrid J. and Clara (Miller) Hagberg. He grew up on a farm near Buffalo Lake, Minn. where he was active in 4-H, milked cows, fed livestock, and cared for his mother’s chickens. His love for farm life never diminished.

Arild attended school in Buffalo Lake. He enjoyed music, began singing in church at an early age and continued to do so throughout his life. In high school, he participated in chorus and band, winning honors for a tuba solo at State Music Contest, and sang in a barbershop quartet that performed at local events.

After graduating from high school in 1956, he decided to pursue music at St. Olaf College, but left after one semester. He returned home to the farm, and in June 1957, at age 18, joined the United States Navy Reserve, a six-year obligation.

At his mother’s urging, he enrolled that fall at the University of Minnesota St. Paul Farm Campus. It was there, while on a choir trip to a concert at St. Olaf College, that he met his future wife, Betty Manguson. Arild left the University in October 1959 to serve two years of active duty at the Naval Air Facility in Naples, Italy.

On completing his military obligation, Arild returned to the University of Minnesota in fall of 1961 and renewed his relationship with Betty. They were engaged that Christmas, and married June 16, 1962. Their extended honeymoon included traveling to Europe with a group of Lutheran U of M students, two weeks touring Norway and Sweden sharing a rented Volkswagen with a young, unmarried couple, and six weeks volunteering with the University students at a Lutheran orphanage and hospital in Germany. This spirit of friendship, good will and volunteerism would become a trademark of their 63 years of marriage.

Arild graduated from the University of Minnesota in1964. He worked briefly as a state food inspector, before beginning a 20-year career with the Federal Land Bank Assn. of Forest Lake in 1966 when he and Betty moved to Chisago City. They joined Zion Lutheran Church the same day their first son, Aric, was baptized there in the fall of 1966. Their second son, Thor, arrived two years later.

At Zion, Arild, along with Betty, sang in the choir and served on church council. Arild was part of the community group that created the Chisago Lakes Golf Course and served as its first treasurer. He held various offices in the Chisago Lakes Jaycees, and in later years volunteered at the Chisago County History Center in Lindstrom. An avid supporter of the Friends of the Karl Oskar House, in Lindstrom, he served as its treasurer, a guide and volunteer groundskeeper.

Not long after moving to Chisago City, Arild fulfilled his dream of having his own farm. Though he never farmed full time, Arild and Betty owned a 120-acre farm north of Chisago City for 20 years raising broiler chickens as well as sweet corn, pumpkins and squash, flowers and a large vegetable garden. Arild said he was happy to be able to raise their sons in the country, as he was raised, “where they learned to drive by driving a tractor, to work hard, and always keep their mother happy.”

Arild finished his professional career as a right-of-way and purchasing agent with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, retiring in 2003. In retirement, Arild and Betty moved to a townhome in Lindstrom and for several years spent winters living in Arizona close to Arild’s siblings and Betty’s sister.

In recent years, Arild and Betty had become a familiar fixture on the walking track at Chisago Lakes High School’s Wildcat Community Center. They made it a point to bridge the generation gap, regularly greeting and engaging in conversation with students as they arrived for school each day. “They didn’t just use the track,” said Community Education Director Dan McConigle in a tribute to Arild, “They nurtured it…engaging members of all ages in effortless conversations.”

Arild was preceded in death by his parents Adrid and Clara; brothers Stanley, Dale, and Ralph Hagberg; and sisters Avis (Hagberg) Walter, and Beverly Jane Hagberg, who died in infancy.

Arild is survived by his wife, Betty; sons Aric (Susan Jordan) and Thor (Carmela) Hagberg; granddaughter Anja Hagberg; his “little-sister” nieces Julie Swaggert and Janet Knoll; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 13, at Zion Lutheran Church, Chisago City, MN preceded by visitation at 10 a.m. Interment will immediately follow the church service at Chisago Memorial Park directly across the street.

Memorials are preferred to Zion Lutheran Church, Friends of the Karl Oskar House, the Wildcat Community Center at Chisago Lakes High School or the Chisago County Historical Society.

Arrangements with Grandsrtand Funeral Home of Lindstrom, MN. Condolences may be expressed online at www.grandstrandfh.com.

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