Dale Edward Mattson

Dale was born in the hospital in Whapeton, ND to Ed and Celia Mattson on March 5, 1934. They lived in Tintah, MN for the first year of Dale’s life, and then the three of them moved to Detroit Lakes, where they lived on the north side of the tracks on Washington Avenue. He was an only child. Dale’s dad was a barber and his mom was a homemaker. When not playing with the Thomas boys on the north side, Dale spent a lot of his childhood in his dad’s shop, where he shined shoes.

Dale excelled in music, playing first chair trombone for the high school band, starting in 7th grade. He also was the goalie for the DLHS hockey team all throughout high school, until graduating in 1952. He later coached youth hockey.

Towards the end of his high school years, Betty deSart moved to DL with her parents. After getting acquainted, he told her that he’d always been looking for a “tall, dark, skinny, homely girl”. She married him anyway.

Prior to their marriage, Dale had graduated from Mohler Barber College in Minneapolis. He had then joined his father in business at Mattson's Barber Shop, where the neon sign was purposely spelled with only one “T”, as the sign company charged by the letter. Dale loved his customers and continued the family business, barbering, until he retired at age 83.

Dale & Betty had 3 daughters; Jill (Gary) Anttila, Jan (Lin) Peterson, and Faye (Greg) Martel.

After raising their girls on Langford Street, Dale returned to residing on Washington Avenue, as he and Betty purchased the building that housed the barber shop, and they lived above it. They both loved living right uptown, where they could easily and frequently have friends up for coffee and fellowship.

There are 7 adored grandchildren; Denise, Joe, Wayne, Philip, Alisa, Emily, and Logan. There are also 8 great grandchildren.

Dale was preceded in death by his parents and Betty, his beloved wife of 68 years.

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