Dale Olmstead

Dale Olmstead, age 70, of Port Charlotte, FL, and formerly of Fosston, MN, passed away on December 28, 2018 in Port Charlotte. A celebration of Dale's life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 22nd, at Kingo Lutheran Church in Fosston with the Rev. John Ragan officiating. Inurnment will be in Hope Lutheran Cemetery columbarium. Family will greet friends for one hour prior to the service on Saturday at the church. Arrangements are with Carlin Family Funeral Service of Fosston and messages of condolence may be sent at www.carlinfuneral.com. Dale was born in Fosston on October 3, 1948 to Albert (Bob) and Mildred (Olson) Olmstead. He grew up on the family farm outside of Fosston, graduating from Fosston High School in 1966. He attended the University of Minnesota-Crookston in its first year of existence and graduated from Brown Institute, where he learned to be a broadcaster. During Dale's time at the U of M-Crookston, he met his wife, Connie (Aker). They were married in Crookston in 1968. Together they had two children.Dale's career in broadcasting moved him all around Minnesota, culminating in starting his first radio station in 1979, KKAQ, in Thief River Falls. He went on to build KKCQ and KKDQ in his hometown of Fosston. But broadcasting wasn't his only business venture. Over the years, he owned a print shop, lumber yard, cell phone store, and mortgage brokerage, just to name a few.After retiring from the radio business in 1993, Dale and Connie moved to the Brainard Lakes area for a few years. From there, they moved all around the Twin Cities then back to Princeton. Finally, they followed their family to Florida in 2017.Dale kept busy with a variety of hobbies. He had his pilot's license for several years, grew grapes at the vineyard he planted at his cabin in Fosston, spoke to people all over the world on his ham radio, and built everything from a toy plane to a dresser in his shop.Dale leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Connie, of Port Charlotte, FL, daughter Gina (Maurice) Grover of Venice, FL, and son Eric (Leanne) of Cape Coral, FL. He also leaves behind his three adored grandsons, Bergen Grover, Jackson Olmstead and Sam Olmstead. He was preceded in death by his parents.