Dale, 84, passed away at his home in University Place on June 6, 2024, surrounded by the love of his family.

Dale was born on April 14, 1940 in Lankin, North Dakota. In 1943, he moved to Tacoma, WA with his father, mother, and older brother. Dale enlisted in the United States Airforce in 1958 as an Air Policeman and served his country on active duty until 1962 before transitioning to the Airforce Reserve.  He was stationed Pearl Harbor, HI, Fairfield Air Force Base in Spokane, WA and Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake, WA and was honorably discharged with the rank of Technical Sergeant. In 1968, Dale married Lenora Cole and never looked back and last August they celebrated 55 years of happily devoted marriage. Dale went on to graduate from Pacific Lutheran University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a focus in accounting. Dale then embarked on a long and successful career as a Financial Analyst at the Boeing Corporation, retiring in 2007 after 39 years.

More than anything, Dale had a deep devotion to his family and his faith. Dale preferred serving quietly and in the background whenever needed at church and in his children's schools, often using his bookkeeping and administrative skills in various roles.  He enjoyed following the UW Huskies, the Seattle Mariners, and the Seattle Seahawks as well as reading history books, and military and spy novels.  In his later years he derived tremendous joy from playing with, or even just seeing, his four grandchildren.

Dale's love of adventure led him to share many wonderful trips with his wife and three children. He spent 4 months working in Bandung, Indonesia, followed by a tour of South East Asia with his wife.  He later took his wife and two youngest children to live with him in Australia for two years from 1990 to 1992.  In other trips he explored Greece, Israel, London, England, California, North Dakota, a river cruise on the Mississippi and many other adventures, all with his beloved wife and closest friend, Lenora, by his side.  A warm memory is his final trip with the family on a cruise from Texas to Mexico in December 2022.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Anton and Vivian (née Thurnau) Novak, as well as his siblings James and Eleanor. Dale is survived by his loving wife Lenora, his children Eric, Anna and Nathan, grandchildren Elizabeth, William (Cole), Hans-Christian and Henrik, brothers Tony and David, sister Karen, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and nephews.