Dr. Dale Edwin Marxen

LIVESTREAM SERVICE:

Dale’s Livestream Service will begin at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday, August 2, 2025. Scroll down to the Webcast section and click on “Watch Now.”

Dr. Dale Edwin Marxen was born in Beloit, Wisconsin, on June 1, 1948, while his parents were visiting relatives in Janesville, Wisconsin. Soon after he was born, his family went back to the family farm in Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, Canada. He began his education in a one-room country schoolhouse, with 12 students in grades 1 thru 8, called Golden Glow about a mile and a half from his home. There were no phones and electricity had not been brought to the district, so the school was heated with a large wood stove that was fired up each winter morning by the nearest neighbor.

In 1959 Dale's family moved to the United States and settled near Janesville, Wisconsin, where his mother's ancestors were the first white settlers and Dale continued his education at Beloit schools. After graduating from high school at the top of his class, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin campus at Janesville, Wisconsin, and later moved to Madison and completed a bachelor’s degree in math education. He taught high school for a very short time in Minnesota, hung around Madison for a few years and then moved to Seattle, Washington. Shortly thereafter, he moved 80 miles north to Bellingham, Washington, where he enrolled at Western Washington University and completed a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

When still in Madison, Dale set out on a spiritual journey. He was a true seeker of truth and, in his own words, a "spiritual tourist, investigating different spiritual paths”. He finally found the object of his search in the Baha'i Faith in 1971 in Madison, Wisconsin, and declared his faith in Bellingham. Dale remained a dedicated and active member of the Baha'i Faith to the end of his earthly life. For decades, Dale served on the institutions of the Baha'i Faith in various capacities in many cities in the United States and in Croatia. While living in Bellingham, he met a beautiful Persian Baha'i named Vajdieh Majidi who became his wife in March of 1981.

Shortly after their marriage, they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where Dale began working as a CPA for an accounting firm as well as for The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, and Vajdieh found employment with Arco Oil and Gas Company. There they joined the Baha'i community of Anchorage. After a few years in Alaska, Dale decided he wanted to pursue a PhD, so they moved from Anchorage to Boulder, Colorado, where he received a PhD in accounting from the University of Colorado. Upon graduation, he joined the faculty of accounting at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. In his last year of teaching at the University of Utah, Dale received recognition as the Teacher of the Year for both graduate and undergraduate teaching. Dale and Vajdieh then moved to Mankato, Minnesota, where Dale joined the faculty of accounting at the University of Minnesota, Mankato.

In 2005, Dale and Vajdieh decided to move to Zagreb, Croatia, to serve the Baha'i Community there. They lived in Zagreb until 2017 when they moved back to the United States and bought a home in Sequim, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula where they lived up to the present. They were planning to move to Boulder, Colorado, to be near Vajdieh's relatives.

Dale was a very bright, conscientious and kind individual who grew up in a house filled with music as his father and grandfather were both champion fiddlers and his mother played piano, so Dale learned to play banjo and guitar with the family at a young age. He freely and generously shared his gift of music with friends and community members at many gatherings and brought much joy to the hearts of the listeners.

Sadly, throughout his life, Dale had very serious and sometimes lengthy episodes of clinical depression with which he struggled fiercely. Finally, he lost the battle, and we lost a wonderful husband, brother, cousin, uncle and friend when he ended his life on July 28, 2025.

Dale was predeceased by his parents, Bill and Mary; and sister, Carol Yelland. He is survived by his wife; his brother, Duane; his sister-in-law, Peggy; niece, Edie Yelland; nephews, Neil Yelland and Chad and wife, Crystal Yelland; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Atieh; brothers-in-law, Behzad, Behnum, Behrad, Behdad and Mehran; their spouses; and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Drive, Madison, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 2, 2025. Family and friends who wish to view the service via LIVESTREAM may visit Dale’s obituary page at www.gundersonfh.com at the time of the service and click on Watch Now in the Webcast section. Burial will be held at Town of Dunn Burying Ground.

Memorials may be made in Dale's name to Recovery International. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson East
Funeral & Cremation Care
5203 Monona Drive
(608) 221-5420