Dale Preston Odin Rolfsen

What's time to a pig, anyway?

Obituary

With deep sadness, we announce the passing of Dale, who was born on February 3^rd, 1942 and passed away on April 26^th, 2026 in Squamish, BC, Canada. His final days were spent with loved ones around him.

Dale was born in Chicago and came to Canada in 1970 via a year in India. He had previously burned his draft card and was one of many great minds crossing the border to start a new life in Canada rather than participate in the Vietnam war.

Dale worked at UBC in the mathematics department from 1972 until his retirement in 2012. He served as head of the department from 1989-1994. He specialized in topology and knot theory—the mathematical study of shapes, spaces, and knots. He is the author of the well-known book Knots and Links.

In 1974, Dale became a member of Rosen Lake Farm, a remote slice of orchard and wilderness on Read Island, B.C., where he built a wonderful home overlooking the lake. Dale met his wife, Gloria, there, as they were both company members. They became best friends for 6 years before falling in love and marrying at the lake in 1980. From then on they spent as much time on Read Island as they could, surrounded by friends, kids, dogs and horses, including his pony Jay Boy.

Dale and Gloria raised their daughters, Catherine and Amy, in Vancouver. The family led an adventurous life as his career took them on sabbaticals to places like England, Hawaii, Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, the U.S. and France. Dale played fiddle in Scandinavian folk bands, appreciated jazz, sailing, and a corny joke, but he loved nothing more than being at the lake. That love has been passed on to his grandchildren Elsa, 12, Greta, 11 and Freddie, 9. His son in law Guthrie also has a great love of the lake.

Dale will be deeply missed by his wife, daughters, their families, and his extended family in Illinois. Everyone remembers his gentleness, spirit of exploration, and love of music and learning.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to one of Dale’s favourite non-profit organizations, Amnesty International.

Timeline

Gallery

Memory wall

June 1, 2026

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Our condolences to Gloria and family. We have good memories of our conversations with Dale on Quadra and it has been wonderful to see these photos of him, so engaged with the children and life!

Cathy and Jim O'Rourke

May 21, 2026

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Dale and I were graduate students at Wisconsin during the same time period. I went directly to UBC in 1967 when jobs were easy to get, and he arrived some years later when it was much harder to get hired here.

He was quickly recognized as a valuable member of the department. Candidates for promotion were invited to list their contributions to society, Dale asked me whether he ought to mention being drafted to fight a forest fire.

When Dale retired, one of his colleagues here in topology praised the diagrams to Dale drew in talks, and confessed to needing much more time to copy them than Dale needed to draw them.

John Fournier

May 16, 2026

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horrid shock, just began panning a trip to vancouver
with a search for dale's current info. 3 weeks ago i was
too late... now i'm desolate. oh gloria i am too sad to say
more...this keyboard and tears don't work well together.

malcolm roberton

May 15, 2026

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I was always happy to see Dale as he was very kind and friendly. I was hoping to see him again in another seminar. Once I asked him what he was doing after retirement, and he answered that he spent most of the time in an island far north of Powell River. I was very surprised, without realizing he had been there since so many years ago.

Tai-Peng Tsai

May 7, 2026

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October 2013, Seoul

Gyo Taek Jin

May 7, 2026

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Dale was one of my favourite people. We joined the Math Department at almost the same time and chose to live in Dunbar, not very far apart. Although we worked in apparently different areas of Mathematics, time would tell that even our Mathematics had something in common. Dale was one of a small group from UBC and SFU that worked towards starting a centre for Mathematical Research exposition. We met regularly and eventually it was decided that an excellent location for such a centre was at the already well-established Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity on the slopes of Tunnel Mountain in the town of Banff, Alberta. One of the first meetings to be held there was scheduled for April 26 to May 1st, 2003 with the theme "The Many Aspects of Mahler's Measure". Although Dale was best known for his wonderful book on "Knots and Links" which sounds very far from the topic of this meeting, he became interested in helping organize this event with me. As the weather gods would have it, on April 26, 2003, there was a dump of snow on Calgary International Airport meaning that no flights could arrive, and apparently dooming our first event at BIRS! But fortunately, Dale had decided to arrive early, to do a little hiking in the mountains before the meeting and so was able to take over the organization until the rest of us could arrive. Most of the participants managed to arrive by April 27th by various means (I'd like to say by dogsled, but that would be an exaggeration). So we managed to have a very enjoyable meeting, and many new mathematical friendships were formed.

David Boyd

May 7, 2026

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I am terribly sorry to hear this. Within a short time, Colin (my PhD advisor), Roger, and Dale (my postdoc mentor) have left us, three true personalities whom I loved so much. Dale was one of the most generous people I've ever met. I have so happy memories of our mathematical discussions, and of the time we spent together: he invited me to his place in Vancouver on several occasions to meet his family, and he even invited me his house on Read island. That's a privilege I will never forget - it's a beautiful, magic place. Dale is a model for me, as a mathematician and as a person.

Bert Wiest

May 5, 2026

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I was very sorry to hear that Dale had passed. As usual, I learned many things about Dale that I hadn't known while he was with us. (I've always felt that Obituaries should be published much earlier!) Dale and I interacted in many ways which seems surprising to some given that Dale was very well known as an expert in "Knots and Links", while I dabbled in strange subjects like "Mahler measure". But I had not known that Dale played the fiddle until I was able to see the photographic evidence! One of my fondest memories of Dale is his participation in the discussions that led to the founding of the Banff International Research Station for Mathematics. When the conferences finally began, I was chosen as the organizer of a conference on "Mahler Measure" near the end of April 2003. Dale was going to organize a conference on what seemed like a totally different subject in early May of 2004. And since some of the proposed participants for the two conferences overlapped, it made sense for Dale to attend the 2003 conference. This was fortunate since, in the morning hours of April 26th, the gods decided that winter had not come to an end in southern Alberta and there was a dump of 60 cm of snow at Calgary International Airport, which delayed and even cancelled the arrival of many participants. Fortunately, Dale had arrived in Banff on April 25th, probably intending to do some hiking before the conference began. So he was able to take over from David, who arrived a day late. The participation was larger than might be believed but started on April 29th with David giving a short talk welcoming the brave participants, one of whom had driven in from northern BC. I don't think Dale brought his fiddle, and I didn't bring my guitar, so a fine opportunity was missed. But a lot of mathematics was exchanged!

David Boyd

May 4, 2026

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Dale you left us too quickly and we didn’t say ‘goodbye’ but leaving us with memories of 50 years of friendship that carried over 3 generations to our children and granddaughter with special bonds.
You had so many faces: musician, mathematician, and right jolly elf.
We miss your kind heart and brilliant mind, but we have the memories that make us smile, laugh, and cry.

Emily Brooks

May 4, 2026

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Dale and I were graduate students together at the University of Wisconsin. We wrote our dissertations while we were at UCLA and drove to Madison in June 1967 to defend them for our PhD's. He was the best of friends....among my many memories is of an afternoon in a bar in Vanc ouver where, over several beers, we had a mathematical adventure that resulted in a joint paper, one of my favourites. He was the best of friends despite the distance over the years. The world is just not the same with his passing. Ken

Ken Millett

May 3, 2026

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Since becoming partners in our Rosen Lake property in 1974 Dale has not just been our dearest friend, he has been our family. Dale and Gloria’s children and our children have been raised together, even though in different places. When they met at the lake in summer they were siblings. So many memories! So much love! We miss you pappy Dale!

Linda Kempling

May 3, 2026

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Like Colin who we lost only a week before my own father, Roger, Dale was another one of our wonderful and eccentric 'extended family'. It's such a shock to hear of such awful news. All my and Rosie's love to Gloria and the Roflsen family. RIP Dale.

Tom Fenn

May 2, 2026

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Dale was a wonderful colleague to us in the department of Mathematics at UBC. He was the department Head when I arrived at UBC, and he went out of his way to make me feel welcome. I've never forgotten that. We will miss him greatly.

Leah Keshet

May 2, 2026

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I met Dale a few years ago in the ‘bass’ section of the Sea to Sky Singers, a local community choir. I was somewhat envious of his beautiful and resonant baritone voice. We grew to be good friends and that friendship was shared with our partners,Mairi and Gloria.

Peter Blair

May 2, 2026

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I am very saddened to hear of Dale's passing. Dale is well known for his many contributions to topology, in particular his foundational textbook on knot theory. He was always a valuable source of thoughtful advice for me on various matters in the UBC math department. And I have long admired his strong commitment to social justice. It has always been so easy and enjoyable to interact with Dale because of his kind and thoughtful personality. I will miss Dale forever! - Brian Marcus

Brian Marcus

May 1, 2026

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❤️

Ocean

May 1, 2026

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My deepest sympathies go to you Gloria, and all of Dale's family. It was my great joy and honour to have worked at UBC with Dale. I was a lucky recipient of his brilliance, learning about braid groups from him, but it is his warmth, kindness and wisdom that I will remember the most about him from when I started in 2002. I will miss him dearly.

Stephanie van Willigenburg

May 1, 2026

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So sorry for your loss Catherine, Amy and Gloria.
I have a feeling my dad would have loved talking farming with Dale.
Hopefully their paths cross in Heaven.

Marcella Bernardo

May 1, 2026

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❤️

Gloria Rolfsen

May 1, 2026

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.❤️

Gloria Rolfsen

May 1, 2026

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💜

Gloria Rolfsen

April 30, 2026

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We will so miss Dale. What a gentle man he was. A little otherworldly sometimes in some ways. But he was a man who warms one's heart. Gloria and family, our heartfelt condolences. We are thinking of you and your family and we are also mourning.

Mike and Claire

Mike McIvor

April 30, 2026

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Gloria, so sorry for your loss. Condolences to you & your family.
Linda

Linda Fenton

April 30, 2026

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Kids, grandkids, dogs, and the sweatshirt. I love you, dad.

Catherine Rolfsen

April 30, 2026

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Dale will certainly be missed by many and in many countries no doubt. I first met Dale on Read Island and my husband, Jack and he became great friends.
Dale rushed my daughter from Read Island to Quadra and a waiting ferry in the dead of night in his open boat when she broke her arm while playing at the lake! Always so grateful for that as she needed surgery.
When I left the Island in 1975 to take a job at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Dale let me buy his car with $100 monthly payments as he was leaving for overseas. I’ll always be grateful for his generosity🥰 I hope he and Jack find each other in the Great Beyond ❤️🥰🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Bonnie Bain Moss

April 30, 2026

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❤️

Gloria Rolfsen

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