David Vernon Kind,76 of Prior Lake passed away on April 1, 2014.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, April 16th, 10-11 am at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, 4565 Pleasant Street SE, Prior Lake, MN 55372
Celebration of Life Service will follow at 11 am.
Dave Kind’s life story
Always one who loved to talk hunting and fishing and have a good laugh, David Vernon Kind, age 76, died early Tuesday morning, April 1, 2014, after a courageous one and half year battle from cancer, in Prior Lake, MN. The Celebration of Life Service will be on Wednesday, April 16, at 11 am with visitation one hour prior to the service, all at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, 4565 Pleasant Street SE, Prior Lake, MN. Pastor Diana Hunstad will officiate. Full military honors will be provided by the Prior Lake V. F. W. Honor Guard. Urn bearer will be Doug Miller and the American flag recipient is Connie Miller. Some of David’s ashes will be spread in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, his favorite hunting spot and a good fishing hole in Minnesota and the rest will be buried in Ringsaker Cemetery in Pelican Rapids, MN.
Memorials are preferred and will be given to David’s favorite charity in his memory.
David was born on January 27, 1938 in Warroad, MN. He was an only child to his adoptive parents, Orville and Mabel (Bergum) Kind. Dave’s child hood years were spent in Pelican Rapids, where he and his dad would fish 3-4 times a week. This hobby turned into a lifelong passion of enjoying the outdoor wilderness and everything it has to offer. He played football and track in high school and was a graduate of Pelican Rapids High School.
Dave proudly served in the United States Army and was awarded a rifle marksman citation. After attending Minneapolis traffic management school for one year, Dave spent seven years at United Airlines as a premier reservationist.
David then managed the largest American plan, fishing camp in North America (Arctic Lodge, Reindeer Lake, Saskatchewan) in the summer months, and then working for the same company, he would go in the fall to Ludden, North Dakota to operate their geese and duck hunting camp (James River Game Lodge). It is on Reindeer Lake, where Dave caught one of his prize possessions, a 60 lb., 4 oz. lake trout. He was also a large contributor in the creation of the Minnesota Horse and Hunt Club, in Prior Lake, MN.
For the next 16 years, Dave was a realtor at Edina Realty in Prior Lake. During that same period, Dave began booking and guiding hunting and fishing trips, a business that he currently has operated for 54 years. His travels as a guide have included Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho and the Northwest Territories.
Dave had a special understanding as to what the “wilderness” was all about; as he stated, “no roads, no motors-only by foot or horseback.” Dave loved to be on horseback and treasured being in the wilderness. His travels would involve danger also. The worst was dodging forest fires, as they jumped from island to island, while boating on Reindeer Lake (210 miles long x 40 wide with 5,000 islands) in Saskatchewan.
Dave was a member of Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church, Safari Club International and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Dave is preceded in death by his parents, Orville and Mabel Kind.
Services arranged with honor, care and compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, Prior Lake
