Dennis "Denny" Dale Trandem

Denny Trandem died peacefully at his home in Bagley, Minnesota, on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at the age of 80, surrounded by his family. No cause of death was made public. His obituary was released through Cease Family Funeral Home and his death was reported by Lakeland News on November 4, 2026.

Funeral services were scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Cease Family Funeral Home Chapel in Bagley, with visitation one hour before and military honors by Irvin Blix American Legion Post 16. Interment was to be at Maple Lake Cemetery near Fertile.

He was survived by his wife Sharon, his children Kim Severud, Barbara Wermerskirchen, Timothy Severud, Paul Severud and Amy Dols, and his brothers LeRoy and Donald Trandem. He was preceded in death by his wives Margo and Laila, his son Scott David Severud in 2016, and his parents.

Dennis Dale Trandem was born on October 9, 1946, in Northwood, North Dakota, the son of Walter Jennings Trandem and Eleanor Ingeborg (Kappedal) Trandem. He was baptized in Northwood. In 1947 the family moved to a farm in Woodside Township, near Erskine in Polk County, Minnesota, where he grew up, and he was confirmed at Maple Lake Lutheran Church.

He graduated from Fertile High School in May 1964 and lived in Golden Valley, Minnesota, for a year. On November 9, 1965, he entered the United States Army. He served in Vietnam from January 1967 to January 1968 and in Bad Aibling, West Germany, from February 1968 to October 1969, and was honorably discharged on October 23, 1969.

Back home he studied at Bemidji State University from 1970 to 1971 and then at Moorhead State University, graduating in 1974 with a degree in law enforcement.

Trandem began in law enforcement as a dispatcher for the Moorhead Police Department in September 1974. From October 1975 to February 1978 he was a Moorhead police officer, and from March 1978 to June 1979 he served on the Barnesville police force. He worked for the Intercounty Community Council from 1980 to 1984.

In November 1984 he joined the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office as a deputy. He took office as Clearwater County Sheriff on January 2, 1991, and served 16 years, retiring on January 2, 2007.

The day after retiring he began working for Cease Family Funeral Homes in Bagley, and he stayed with the firm for the rest of his life. His colleagues became, in his family's words, his "little buddies" and a second family, and he was known there for the saying "You call, we haul, that's all."

In 1974 Trandem married Margo Cecille Lohn and became stepfather to her six children. The family lived in Moorhead, Barnesville, rural Lengby and Clearbrook before settling in Bagley in 1986. Margo died in 1997. In 1999 he married Laila Haddeland, who died of cancer in 2010. On August 9, 2014, he married Sharon Lee (Neill) Pratt at his daughter's home in Jordan, Minnesota.

He was a member of the Sheriff's Association, Irvin Blix American Legion Post 16 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2759. He delivered Meals on Wheels, served on the Veterans Memorial board and the Bagley Community Education board, and volunteered each year in the Horticulture Building at the Clearwater County Fair. A skilled carpenter, he often repaired wooden items for others. He enjoyed woodworking, jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku, golf, his collection of Second World War books and long trips West on his trike.

Trandem is remembered in Clearwater County as a sheriff who led the office for a generation and then kept serving his neighbours long after he left it, through funeral work, veterans' groups and volunteering. His family summed up his outlook with his favourite motto, "Every day is a gift."