Services for John Olaf Birkeland

John Olaf Birkeland, 52, of Roseville, formerly of Gonvick, MN died on February 10, 2016 at his residence in Roseville, MN. 

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at Samhold Lutheran Church in Gonvick.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the Church.  Interment will be at the Samhold Lutheran Cemetery in Gonvick, MN. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bagley assisted the family with arrangements. 

John was born on November 12, 1963 in Bagley, MN, the son of Arlen and Betty (Sundquist) Birkeland.  He was baptized and confirmed at Samhold Lutheran Church in Gonvick.  He graduated valedictorian from Gonvick-Trail High School in 1982. John attended St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN graduating in 1988 with a degree in Mass Communications with emphasis in Advertising and Public Relations.

He worked at Target in St. Cloud. He also worked at AT&T in St. Cloud, Chicago, IL and San Antonio, TX for 14 years. He was the State Wide Support Liaison Self-Advocacy Solutions, North Dakota since 2003. He was passionate about human and civil rights, and authored a grant to teach people throughout the state of North Dakota on the Voting Process. In a short time period, John presented to over 600 people on the right to vote and the process. He completed a training and was certified on the Convention of Rights for Persons with Disabilities in Farmington, MN.  In 2011, John assisted people with disabilities to testify and testified himself in Bismarck to have the “R” word taken out of the North Dakota Century Code. On April 19th, 2011, John was part of the historical day for people with disabilities in the state of North Dakota as they were asked to witness Gov. Dalrymple sign Bill 2142 into law. John was awarded the State Self-Advocacy Ally of the year in 2012. He also was a presenter at local, regional and state conferences in Minnesota and North Dakota. John was willing to share the message of equality and justice for all on any stage, including four National S.A.B.E. (Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered) Conferences. John also worked at the Listen Drop-In Center in Grand Forks for 11 years where he was the founder of programs such as the LSPN, (Listen, Sports, Programs, Network.) He also was a co-founder of “Performing for Change”, a performing arts group made up of people with and without disabilities who use performances to bring about social change. He did grant writing and was managing editor of the newsletters for SAS, N.D. and Listen. In John’s work with people with disabilities, his biggest attribute was his ability to listen to the needs, take action to see that change was made. He was patient and loved and respected each and everyone’s gifts without limitations or conditions. He was a champion of fairness and justice for all people. Just as his title of “Favorite Uncle”, John was the “Favorite Staff” at LISTEN. He moved to Roseville where he worked for Sprint and was currently residing there.

John was passionate about politics and loved discussing the issues. He enjoyed music and compiling CD’s for family.  John loved being with family and was especially fond of spending time with his many nieces and nephews. He loved “Saturday Night Live” if you missed a great skit, he would be the first one to make sure you saw it on YouTube. He never forgot a birthday or anniversary, everyone always received a card.  He was a member of Samhold Lutheran Church, a St. Cloud State Husky Hockey Fan, loved poetry, traveling (the bigger the city, the better), and he was proud that he had traveled to almost every state in the USA. Along with his many passions, John loved dogs, he was the go to for every family dog, he would teach them to shake, and at every family gathering, where ever John was that is where you would find the dogs. He was very proud of being a Godfather to his niece Libbi. He had a heart of gold and everyone that met him loved him.

He is survived by his father – Arlen Birkeland of Gonvick, MN

Brother – Dean (Teri) Birkeland of Fergus, Falls, MN

Brother – Richard (Julie) Birkeland of New Richmond, WI

Sister – Ruth Ann (Craig) Haugen of Becker, MN

Sister – Donna Ballard of Elk Grove Village, IL

Sister – Diane (Craig) Malkovich of Phillips, WI

Sister – Sandy Danielson of Reno, Nevada

Sister – Barbara (Dean) Halvorson of Harwood, ND

Sister - Carla Tice of East Grand Forks, MN

Numerous nieces and nephews

He was preceded in death by his mother – Betty; his brother - Neal Birkeland and his sister – Peggy Brovold; his nephews- Brandon Edevold and Benjamin Brovold; his Niece- Dana Edevold. 

Messages of condolence may be sent to ceasefuneralhome.com.