Rev. David Hyland, 83, died August 31, 2026, at Sanford Broadway Medical Center, Fargo, N.D.
The funeral service for Dave will be held September 12, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., at North Buffalo Lutheran Church, Moorhead, Minn., with Pastor Mark Nerland officiating and with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at North Buffalo Cemetery.
David Vinje Hyland was born April 22, 1943, to Pastor Irwin and Mildred (Vinje) Hyland in Ottawa, Ill. He grew up in small towns in Illinois, southern Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota, where his dad served parishes. After his dad died when Dave was 16, the family moved to Forest City, Iowa, where Dave completed high school in 1960. Subsequently, he graduated from Waldorf Junior College, Forest City (1962); Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. (1966); and Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. (1970).
On December 30, 1966, Dave married Sandra Gerber at Crookston, Minn. They made their first home in St. Paul, and began a family. They would have three daughters: Heidi, Shannon and Lael.
Dave was ordained June 28, 1970; his first call, to the three-point Florence (S.D.) Lutheran Parish, lasted five years. Pastor Dave then served North Buffalo Lutheran Church, rural Moorhead, Minn., for 20 years. During that time, he also trained and was certified as a hospital chaplain, and was then called through the Eastern North Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to full-time chaplaincy with what is now Sanford Health. He retired in 2011.
When not working, Dave’s happiest times were spent “puttering” on vehicles, including remodeling a 1957 International school bus to be the family camper, dubbed “The Hyland Fling” or simply “The Bus”; taking the family, and occasionally going alone, on cross-country travels or camping trips closer to home; and – following the “death” of The Bus on a solo jaunt to Alaska – remodeling a 1952 Studebaker pickup, which he prized. Dave also loved coffee all day long, and conversation to go with it. He was fond of Lutheran choral music and singing in college and church choirs. He was a pastoral mentor to many, and a hands-on dad and strong support to his girls and grandkids.
Dave was preceded in death by his father, mother and infant sister, Doris. He is survived by Sandy, his wife of nearly 60 years; their three daughters, Heidi (Greg) Mann, Ely, Minn.; Shannon Hyland, Northfield, Minn.; and Lael Hyland, Fargo, N.D.; and seven grandchildren, Logan and Gabriel Mann, Julia and Genevieve Tassava, and Adrien, Shenoa and Brea Hyland. He is also survived by a sister, Solveig (George) Carlson, Stoughton, Wis.; brothers Paul (Clarice), Woodbury, Minn.; Mark, Fridley, Minn.; and John, Juneau, Alaska; several aunts and uncles; many nephews, nieces and cousins; and countless dear friends. Stories abound of lives touched by his pastoral ministry, which emphasized God’s unconditional love and salvation by grace, and by his kind and gentle spirit.
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