Dalton Luther Holmen
January 26, 1966 - April 28, 2015

"I didn't know Dalton, but my mom just shared with me that she received his corneas for a transplant. My mom had Fuchs Dystrophy, and without his corneas, she wouldn't have been able to see anymore. Thank you for giving her sight back, so she can enjoy her life and family, her children and grand children. I thank you and the Lord Jesus for this gift. I am also crying now to hear of his struggles. My father too is bi-polar and was an alcoholic. Don, your courage and love toward Dalton is inspiring and encouraging. Bless you for showing your son The Father's love until the end. Peace be with you."

"It saddens me to admit that I do not have very many memories of Dalton. He was, as I am, one of 18 Holmen cousins. I remember Uncle Duna, Aunt Loretta, and cousins Dalton, Doneta and Della visiting us in Mpls. I remember laughing and playing as young cousins together but our paths rarely crossed as adults. I prayed for Dalton a lot through the years as I heard about his struggles with mental health problems and addictions. I am sorry I did not get to spend more time with Dalton and get to know him better. From what I have read in all the lovely and loving tributes and memories, despite his struggles, he was a wonderful, kind, caring, fun, funny guy. I know that Dalton is at peace, no longer struggling or in pain, and is in the loving arms of our Lord and Savior."

"Thoughts and prayers for your wonderful son and, Dalton, and for your family, Don. Although I never knew Dalton personally, I felt I knew him in a different way through my conversations with you, Don. Peace..."

"To the Holmen Family, Don, as a father of an at-risk adult child, I know how deeply you loved Dalton through all the challenges and through the good moments, especially the good moments as they gave you strength and courage to walk the lifetime journey and were ever present to Dalton when he needed most. Through the good times and challenging times, the two of you forged a bond so deep. I know Dalton cherished the gift of you, your love, and our presence in his life. Dalton was such a kind, caring, and sensitive person. I will always remember Dalton with his smile - how heart warming it was. I also have fond memories of young Dalton running and jumping, shooting the ball, and being a vibrant member of the basketball team; yes, I remember too, how hard it was for you, Don, to remain in the gym during some tense games. Dalton ran like a deer, his whiffs of hair bouncing as he sprinted up the court...delivering the ball to his teammates, he was so full of life. Reading the tributes, it is so apparent what a special love & joy Dalton brought to his family. Peace to your hearts."

"Dalton was a loving, kind and special nephew. Some years ago, Loretta told Lyleen of a special memory of an event that took place around 49 years ago when Dalton was just a little baby. They had brought Dalton to visit Loretta's mother, who just adored this new little grandson. As they were leaving. Loretta's mother called them back and said she wanted to hug Dalton some more, and said she didn't know when she would get to see her precious grandson again. Tragically, Loretta's mother passed away a few days latter. She gave her grandson one last loving goodbye. Now, Dalton and his grandmother meet again in the loving presence of our Lord and Savior."

"Duna, Sounds like you were a good father and your son had a refuge there. Jesus was sure of his father also. In my Father's house are many mansions. What a comforting invite for us all. Dale & Jan."

"I always enjoyed talking to Dalton when we went to the Holman household. Our 2 kids went to daycare there with Loretta, so we often were there and became close to the family. Dalton was into athletics, especially basketball, so we had a lot in common and would talk about Waunakee hoops and Wisconsin hoops a lot. I only saw him play a few times as I had my own teams to coach but he was a gutty point guard who knew what he was doing. Years later we teamed up to do some scouting together and that was fun as Dalton had a great sense of humor. I enjoyed watching Dalton play with our young girls when he got home from school. Having 2 younger sisters, he was a expert in getting them laughing and goofing around. He had an assortment of "Gimme Five" sayings, that he had perfected and used with them all the time. As he finished pharmacy school and moved on I saw him less and was so shocked to hear of his mental health issues. Because my Mom had her share of such issues between the early 50"s and early 70's , I know what a spiral downward that can happen with the illness, the meds, and their side effects, the alcohol, other lack of knowledge of what the meds will do to an individual and so on. I will remember the good times at graduation parties, birthday parties, tennis matches, hoops games, the pleasant conversations and his laughter as he was goofing around with my daughters over at "Retta's". "

"A good friend of mine was Dalton's 4th grade teacher when the Holmen Family moved to Waunakee. She said she always knew which students to refer to the Gifted & Talented program by the extent to which they laughed at her jokes. And Dalton was gifted! Of course it helped that she was also Scandinavian and Dalton had been raised in that wonderful culture. :) It has taken me a few days to be ready to write my thoughts because I've been so emotional and sad about losing Dalton. His dad said at the post-funeral meal that he thought we had all done well in remembering the wonderful qualities about his son, along with complete honesty about his difficulties. I agree. We laughed and we cried together over this past week. One of the greatest gifts of my life was the day Don and Loretta walked across the street to ask if we had day-care lined up for our soon to-be-born first child. Answer to prayers! And that began a 35 year bond of friendship and love between our families. Our daughters loved the Holmens. As someone else here said, Dalton could make them giggle with his clever wit and served the "big brother" role in their lives. It saddens us all to know Dalton suffered and struggled so much. But he is at peace and we will remember him fondly. Thank you Don, Loretta, Doneta and Della - you showed us how to get through the week. Don - the tribute you wrote here was perfect and anyone who reads it will take something and learn from your words. The music, speakers and minister at Sunday's service were perfect. We love you all and are so grateful to all the Holmen Family for your friendship and love. Karen "

"I only met Dalton a few times. I could see the love Loretta and Don had for him, and how they prayed for him and helped him every way possible. When things were good, he brought great joy to them and others. He is with the Lord now, and I know that is a comfort to know nothing can ever hurt him again! "

"My deepest sympathy to you Don, Loretta, and the entire Holmen family at this very difficult time. You are such a wonderful family that I respect. I only know of Dalton through my work conversations with Loretta. As we worked together, Loretta would often speak so proudly of all her children & grandchildren. The love and devotion to all of her family was always so prevalent in all of Loretta' s conversations. One particular day as we spoke, Loretta had a tear in her eye as she spoke about Dalton' upcoming second heart surgery.Also having a child, who had also had open heart surgery, I understood the fear and concern in her heart. Having a child with a heart defect while devasting to a family is something that is pretty socially acceptable to share. Little did Loretta & I know we probably at some point could have also shared our experiences about family member's alcohol dependence and bi-polar disease too. The social stigmas involved with such topics are all too difficult & painful to openly share with others. Don, I was so touched with the loving words, and openness with which you wrote your son's obituary. I also know how incredibly hard it must have been to write for many reasons. I sincerely thank you for your honesty. It will help other families to help ease the social stigmas and make it easier for many of us to share with others. Thinking & praying for you & all of your family. God Bless. Mike & Debbie Kuehn"

"Don, Loretta, and Family, You all are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. Looking back we recall wonderful times as families. He loved to talk about sports and different teams. We remember his letters to us after we had sent him encouragement in his difficult hours. He loved each of you! ! Keep your good memories of Dalton close in your hearts. I (Dick) talked with him about how God loved him unconditionally. He had accepted Jesus. He had to battle tough health concerns for many years which were difficult. Now Dalton is free from the pains he endured. We will see him again! We love each of you."

"I will always remember uncle Bucky for his contagious laugh and humor. He made every family get together so fun and he always had a new game for the cousins to play. Some of my favorite memories are playing blind man's bluff and just hanging out playing Nintendo 64. He will truly be missed, but I know he is at peace now in God's care."

"I did not know Dalton or your family, (I m Betty Holmen's cousin) but your moving tribute touched my heart. I know the pain of loving someone who struggled as Dalton did. As painful as it is now for you, he is healthy, whole and in God's loving care. My deepest sympathy to you and our family."

"My condolences to the Holmen family. I did not know Dalton, but I know you Don. I know that you would have done anything to help someone, especially one in your family. I have been close to someone with an addiction and I know that one can be there, but one can't control. Rest assured that Dalton is in God's hands. Keep the joyful warm memories close to your heart. I thank you for being there me when I was a new at the high school. I know first hand what a kind, helpful person you are. "

"We are so sorry for your loss, but know that your strong faith in God's promises will carry you through. Your obituary was beautifully written. People deal with so many problems in this world and some can just not be overcome. The many tributes confirm that Dalton was a wonderful man and was special to many. I believe that God heals in many ways and know that Dalton must finally be at peace. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. "

"Although the circumstances were sad, it was really nice to see you over the weekend. We love you guys. I always feel a little sad after parting from Holmen gatherings--we need more time together. I was digging through my desk drawer at work yesterday and I found one last Sudoku puzzle page, folded up and ready to put in the mail. These were some of the puzzles that I sent to Dalton while he was at a low point. After all these years, it popped up this week. I now have it sitting on my desk as a reminder of the importance of family and sharing our love and care for each other in good times and bad as well. Take care and love from, Kristi, Pete, and Matt Lawless "

"our family had the pleasure of getting to know the Holmen family when Loretta provided day care for our children for a number of years. Dalton was a favorite of our daughter. I have many memories of Dalton during that time as do both of our now adult children. When she was a baby Dalton could make our daughter giggle and laugh like no other and our son recently shared a memory of Dalton letting him listen to his music - Twisted Sister- LOL. He thought that was pretty cool. They both loved Dalton and have their own memories to keep. We continue to keep you all in our thoughts and prayers and count ourselves lucky to have known Dalton and his family."

"It's not possible to convey all the silly sayings, sounds and inside jokes that Dalton had with so many of his extended family members over the years. He mastered the art of poking fun at people without offending them and freely included himself as a target. His laughter was so genuine and contagious -- the kind where he hunched his shoulders and his head bounced up and down, eyebrows raised. You had to laugh just looking at him. And the humor was mostly from some obtuse angle that you never saw coming, the kind you'd swear he had to lie awake at night planning out, yet it just flowed out of him spontaneously. Such a clever wit, but never with any edge or attempt to hurt. Just a childlike, playful spirit in a grown up mind and body. I miss him already, as do so many others. It's comforting to know he is finally at peace. "

"I too made it through everything Dalton lived. I was lucky, many don't make it. I thank God everyday for my friends, family, church, and doctors that never gave up on me either. Dalton was a great, kind, gentle guy with a smile as bright as the sun. I'm sorry for your loss. It's heartbreaking. I'm glad I knew Dalton in high school, he was a great human and had a big heart. He made me laugh in the hallway when we chsnged classes. Love to all. Peace."

"We do not know Dalton or your family, but the well written, humble obituary made me tear up, and just have to send our most sincere sympathy to you and his family. Life gives some of us sad, sad burdens to carry, may God Bless Dalton and his family and bring you peace!"

"My sincere condolences to the Holmen family. I have fond memories of Dalton & his sisters, playing as kids & a boy who always had a kind smile. Rest in peace, Dalton."

"We were so sorry to hear about Dalton. It is so hard to understand why those we love must suffer so. Hopefully, the memories and knowing all that you did to support him will bring you some comfort. You are in out prayers, Jerry and Pat"

"Dalton has always been known as the fun uncle to us. From playing blind man's bluff, buying us fart bombs, playing Donkey Kong with us, teaching us funny jokes, to making fun of infomercials, and taking us to Six Flags, he will always be remembered for his fun-loving spirit and big heart"

"We are grateful that Dalton has been released from pain and suffering and is now in the comforting presence of the ultimate healer-Jesus. We love you, Don and Loretta, and will always be there for you. Prayerfully, Betty and Riley..."

"May you rest in peace, Dalton. You were a wonderful person. You will be greatly missed. Uncle Duna and Aunt Loretta, our deepest sympathies. We love you all very much. "

"Thank you Mr. Holmen, for your honesty and humility concerning your sons struggles. I cannot imagine your grief but you saved someone today. I am forever grateful! Love and peace to you and your family. "

"Don and Loretta, Marcia and I send our condolences and love to you at this difficult time. Don, I think of you often and remember the times we shared together. It would be nice to renew our friendship."

"Don and Loretta, So sorry to hear of your loss. We are thinking of you at this hard time. Harriette and Marty"

"So sorry and sad to hear. Dalton was one of the few students who were decent and nice to me while I attended school in Wisconsin"

"My most sincere condolences to the entire Holmen family. Dalton was such a kind and genuine person. I feel blessed to have known him. "

"Breaks my heart to see this. Many fond memories of the neighborhood when we were young and all the things we did together and all the fun we had in a much simpler time. Thanks for sharing your basketball hoop and driveway as we spent many hours there fighting, laughing and just having a great time. The Holmen family is in my thoughts and prayers"

"I have many childhood memories growing up across the street. From the countless hours of playing basketball in your driveway, the epic ping pong games in your basement, to just screwing around in the neighborhood like most kids do. God Bless & may you rest in peace!"