Dale B. Albertson
Marriages
Norma Dalholtz - July 1956
Donna Jo Largent - December 1991
Obituaries
The Daily Sentinel page 10B - April 16, 2023
Dale Albertson, 88, of
DeBeque, Colorado passed
away peacefully on March
27, 2023 at the BeeHive
Assisted Living Center
after a long battle with
Parkinson’s Disease. He
was born on June 8, 1934 at home on Derby Mesa near
Burns, Colorado and was the only child of Orris and
Berta (Gates) Albertson.
Surrounded by the extended Albertson and Gates
families, Dale grew up with a deep love for the land
and his heritage. He was on a saddle in front of his mom
learning how to run a cattle ranch at a very young age
before joining in the ownership and operation of the
ranch. Along with his parents, he built a unique high
mountain cattle ranch, Albertson Ranch Company.
Until 8th grade, Dale attended a small one room
schoolhouse in Burns. When he entered high school,
he moved to Gypsum and boarded with his best friend,
George Decker. After graduating from Eagle County
High School, both went on to college at Mesa Junior
College. Dale finished his education at Colorado A &
M in Ft. Collins, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree
in Agriculture in 1956 before returning back to the
Western Slope to settle.
In July of 1956, Dale married Norma Dalholtz. They
lived on Derby Mesa until Dale was drafted and left to
serve his country in the Army. Their daughter, Vicki,
was born while Dale was stationed at Fort Lewis in
1957. After being discharged, Dale returned to Derby
Mesa to work on the ranch.
Two more children, Scott and Kendra, were born
before Orris and Dale decided to expand their ranch
and bought land in DeBeque, Colorado. By expanding
the ranch operations to DeBeque, they were able to
secure more hay ground and prime winter range to
complement their high mountain land in Burns. Dale
moved his family to the ranch in DeBeque in 1966.
During his time in DeBeque, Dale was very involved
in his community and profession. He served on the
DeBeque School Board as chairman for many of his
20 years of service. He was also an active member of
the Holy Cross Cattlemen’s Association, Colorado
Cattlemen, Garfield County Planning Commission,
Bluestone Ditch Board, Bluestone Water Conservancy
and was instrumental in founding the Open Bible
Fellowship Church.
After his children were grown, Dale and Norma
divorced. Dale married Donna Jo Largent in December
of 1991 and along with that relationship, he was proud to
become dad to Donna’s twins, Aaron and Amy Largent.
Dale and Donna enjoyed many years of traveling to
follow Amy’s college basketball games and were always
searching for unique off-grid sites and antique stores.
He loved the rugged western beauty of Colorado and
southern Utah. They also enjoyed rodeos and loved
their trips to Cheyenne Frontier Days and the NFR.
Dale absolutely loved sharing the history of his
ranching heritage, often inviting others to come share the
experience of riding after cows or branding calves. The
stories shared and lessons learned during these times
are treasured by those who knew him. Even though he
was soft spoken with a gentle demeanor and quick wit
and humor, he was a strong force to be reckoned with
and never backed down from a good wrestling match at
cow camp.
He was a devoted Christian who had a very deep and
personal relationship with his Lord. He demonstrated
that by living his life as an example of unconditional
love, helping people by giving them a job, a second
chance, or simply the benefit of the doubt. He saw the
good in everyone.
Dale and Donna lived on the ranch on Kimball Creek
in De Beque until Dale decided to “retire” and sold the
ranch in 2005. Dale was diagnosed with Parkinson’s
Disease and was not able to keep up with the demands
of the large ranch operations, so they bought a smaller
piece of property outside of DeBeque that allowed Dale
to still run a few head of cows and irrigate with his dog,
Jiggs, by his side. By this time, Aaron also had his own
cattle ranch and Kendra inherited the Burns ranch, so
Dale was able to get his hands dirty and help out as
often as he wanted to.
Dale is survived by his wife of 31 years, Donna, his
daughters, Vicki Stout and Kendra (Keith) Scott; bonus
son, Aaron (Amy) Largent; and daughter-in-law, Pilar
Albertson.
Grandchildren, David (Sacha) Albertson, Cherie
(Trever) Long, Alice Albertson, Michael Stout, Matthew
(Jessica) Stout, Kurtis (Desiree) Scott, Kensie (Scott)
Redden, Jentry, Railey, and Burke Largent, and Jakob,
Lauren, Ryan & Samuel Schutter and their father, Paul
(Jenny) Schutter.
Great-grandchildren, Rowan, Ryker, Soren & Callum
Long, Zeke, Kylinn and Kit Redden and Kelsey and
Kristen Scott.
Dale was preceded in death by his parents, Orris
and Berta Albertson; son, Scott Albertson in 2018; and
bonus daughter, Amy Largent Schutter in 2011.
Services will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at
1:30 p.m. at Callahan Edfast Mortuary.
In lieu of flowers and support of the challenges
ranchers currently face, we ask that you please consider
donating to the Holy Cross Cattlemen’s Association
to support their endeavors to protect the livestock
producers from the effects of wolf reintroduction. Holy
Cross Cattlemen’s Association, c/o Ginny Harrington,
PO Box 1369, Carbondale, CO 81623.
