Dad's/Morfar's/Erik's Words To Live By:
"First things first . . . Keep some mystery about yourself . . . Twee, twee, twee . . . Half-ass is half-done."
Obituary
Karsten (Erik) Dalaker, beloved partner, father and grandfather, passed away on July 24, 2025 in Hiawassee, Georgia with his daughter by his bedside.
Erik is survived by his partner, Evelyn McGlone of Vero Beach, FL; his daughter, Kristine Elfrida Dalaker and Roger Nygaard of Shellharbour, Australia; and his granddaughter, Erika Hanson Kraabel of Decorah, Iowa. He is predeceased by his son, Karsten Erik Dalaker II. A Norwegian native, Erik is also survived by his family in Norway: his brother, Knut Cato Dalaker and Kari Ellingsen of Bodø, Norway, his cousins, and several nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his sister, Else Marie Dalaker. Erik embraced Evelyn's family as his own, becoming a beloved father and grandfather figure to her children and grandchildren. All were a source of great pride and joy in his life.
Erik was born on May 12, 1945 in Bodø, Norway to Kirsten Elfrida Dalaker and Carsten A.J. Dalaker. He spent his childhood in Bodø in the far north of Norway and Hamar in the south. While living in Hamar, he formed a lifelong friendship with Willy Christiansen. He and Willie later fulfilled their teenage dream and sailed on the tall ship, the Christian Radich, to celebrate their 70th birthdays.
He was a master of both the sea and the skies, beginning with his service as a merchant marine and later in the Norwegian Army. Erik was always fascinated by airplanes and moved to the United States in 1968 to train for his pilot’s license at the Thor Solberg Flight Center in New Jersey. There he met Helen Dalaker who would later become his wife and mother of their two children, Kristine and Erik. He remained connected to the Norwegian community through the Sons of Norway. He greatly enjoyed leading the Sons of Norway’s Ski for Light program, where he led volunteers in teaching the visually impaired to cross-country ski.
Erik and his family lived in New Jersey and upstate New York (Baldwinsville). He had a very successful career as a charter and corporate pilot, flying for Bully Hill Vineyards, Crouse-Hinds Company, Ply Gem Industries, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, among others. Erik was recognized by the Federal Aviation Association for his exceptional record of flight safety. Tragically, Erik lost his son in 1991.
When he retired, Erik and Evelyn embarked on a three-year journey at sea on their beloved boat, Evrik. Erik was an incredibly skilled boatman, engineer and scuba diver. He was known to be able to “build and fix anything” and he drew great pride from repairing his boats, cars, particularly his Jeep and scooter – and maintaining their homes in Florida and North Carolina.
In 2003, he earned the new title of “Morfar” (mother’s father in Norwegian) to his granddaughter, Erika. In his later years, Erik was dedicated to his daughter and granddaughter and loved traveling the world to visit them and enjoy adventures together – attending an Eagles concert in Singapore, eating Belgian waffles in Brussels, touring Erika’s school in Edinburgh, and hiking Storsteinen in Tromsø, among many others. Erik was last in Norway with his family in 2022 to celebrate his daughter’s successful defense of her PhD dissertation.
Our family came together in May 2025 to celebrate Erik’s 80th birthday and Erika’s graduation from Duke University. Morfar could not have been more proud of his granddaughter!
Memorial contributions may be made in Erik’s name to the scholarship fund that was established to honor his son. Please see below for more information.
Kristine and Erika are organizing celebrations of life in Bodø, Norway and Baldwinsville, NY (where Helen and his son, Erik, are buried). Please get in touch with us or check back for more details.
In the meantime, we ask all that knew Dad and Morfar to remember and honor him by raising your glass and channeling a bit of his fun, generous, loving and boyish spirit into your day. Skål!
With love in our hearts to the memory of Dad and Morfar - Kristine & Erika
Celebrations of Life
Kristine and Erika are organizing celebrations of life in Bodø, Norway and Baldwinsville, NY (where Helen and his son, Erik, are buried) at a later date.
For the celebration in Baldwinsville, we hope to schedule it to coincide with the award of Erik's son's scholarship in May 2026. Please check back for more details.
Gallery
Videos
Memory Wall
Det er så trist, så usigelig trist at du er ute av tiden. Du bodde i USA i hele mitt liv. Det var så langt borte, samtidig så stas å ha en onkel i Amerika. Karsten var et av de vakreste guttenavn jeg visste om. Du representerte noe litt eventyrlig - og samtidig langt borte, i mitt liv. Jeg visste at du en gang var en ung mann som dro tidlig ut i verden - og jeg innbilte meg at du erobret den.
Vi traff hverandre mange ganger - både her og der, og på flere av livets fine og livets triste merkedager. Jeg husker godt mormors (din mors) bursdag, besøket i USA - og ditt og Evelyns besøk i Norge. Jeg glemmer aldri den gigantiske tv-en deres i huset deres (!) da dere bodde utenfor New York. Jeg var 17 år, og ante ikke at noe slikt fantes i denne verden. Jeg husker din sjarmerende norsk-amerikanske aksent, din varme, din "Dalakerske" signatur, glimt i øynene og fine vesen. Dere var så forskjellige dere tre søsknene, samtidig var det utvilsomt noe som forente dere. Vi, søskenbarna, var glad i dere alle. Du og Evelyn besøkte oss på Nesodden og i Oslo. Du var ofte så langt borte, men samtidig en del av livene våre. Vi snakket om deg, fikk hyggelige hilsener, og innimellom også en fin prat og en god latter. Dere sendte hilsener, vi hilste tilbake. Vi visste at vi var der og at vi var glade i hverandre.
Sist vi så hverandre, var da du nærmest sprakk av stolthet på Kristines doktorgradsavhandling. Jeg er så glad for at vi begge var til stede, at vi fikk snakket om det som var og det som er. Du holdt en nydelig tale, full av kjærlighet og varme. Du var så uendelig glad i nydeligste Kristine, og i fantastiske Erika.
Enda en søyle er borte i min foreldres generasjon. Vi minnes deg med kjærlighet, og er så usigelig takknemlige for å ha din datter og ditt barnebarn i livene våre. Tusen takk - for det du var for Knut, mamma, for hele familien vår - og ikke minst for Kristine og Erika.
I kjærlighet og takknemlighet,
Ingrid
And yet my heart wanders away,
My soul roams with the sea, the whales'
Home, wandering to the widest corners
Of the world, returning ravenous with desire,
Flying solitary, screaming, exciting me
To the open ocean, breaking oaths
On the curve of a wave.
- From the poem The Seafarer (10th-century AD)
Jeg setter inderlig stor pris på at jeg fikk sjansen til å bli kjent med deg, og skulle så gjerne ha sett at vi fikk ha deg i våre liv i ennå mange år, men slik ble det dessverre ikke.
Du var det som vi Nordlendinger gjerne omtaler som en ¨Likandes kar¨ Du var en engasjert, godhjertet og aktiv mann helt til slutten av ditt liv. Du var velsignet med den egenskapen at du kunne prate og komme i kontakt med alle du møte på din vei, ditt vinnende vesen og gode smil gjorde at du kom godt overens med det aller fleste.
Blir virkelig å savne det å kunne sitte med et glass vin og snakke på norsk om gamle Bodø, du var en utømmelig kilde om personligheter, gatenavn og hvem som gjorde hva.
Du snakket alltid med stolthet over ditt norske opphav og din familie i Norge.
Det at jeg fikk muligheten til å lytte til deg når du pratet om dine første år i USA og da spesielt tiden under pilotutdannelsen er noe jeg setter veldig stor pris på.
Det var alltid kjærkommet når jeg kom over gammelt stoff fra Bodø som jeg kunne sende til deg på mail. Det kunne være NRK dokumentaren ‘By-feskar’ fra Bodø eller f.eks. PDF utgaven av “Etterkrigsbarn i Bodø 1946-1963’
Jeg er veldig stolt over å kunne kalle meg din svigersønn, og lover å gjøre mitt beste i all framtid for din datter og ditt barnebarn, hvil i fred.
Family tree
Donate
If you are in Norway and would like to make a donation, please feel free to Vipps Kristine's husband, Roger Nygaard, at 941 77 270 and he will send you confirmation of your donation.
Français
Deutsch
Nederlands
Español
Português
Magyar
Русский
繁體中文