In Loving Memory of

Dale Douglas Morrison, Jr.

April 12, 1970 – August 25, 2026

Red Lake, Minnesota • Sturgis, South Dakota • United States Navy • Rapid City, South Dakota

Dale Morrison Jr., 56, passed away unexpectedly in Rapid City, South Dakota, leaving behind a legacy as vast and untamed as the open highway he loved to ride. Dale met life the way he met every road trip with the throttle open, eyes forward, and entirely on his own terms.

Dale was born April 12, 1970, in Red Lake, Minnesota, to Dale Morrison Sr. who later married Nancy Morrison. He carried his heritage as a proud member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa with quiet dignity his whole life, honoring the traditions and resilience of his people even as he charted a path entirely his own.

Dale grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota and graduated from Sturgis Brown High School in 1988, where he made a name for himself on the wrestling mat as someone who simply refused to be pinned; literally, and, as it turned out, for the rest of his life. Along the way, he picked up his first paycheck behind the counter of the brand-new McDonald's that had just opened in Sturgis, an early taste of the work ethic that would carry him through nuclear submarines, shipyards, and research vessels alike.

Not long after graduation, Dale answered a call that took him far from the plains and beneath the sea. He proudly served ten years in the United States Navy as a submariner, standing watch aboard the USS Lewis and Clark (SSBN-644), a Benjamin Franklin–class ballistic missile submarine that spent the Iraq war running silent, running deep, and keeping watch so the country above the waves never had to. Life aboard a “boomer” is not for the faint of heart, with months at a stretch in a steel tube with no sunlight, no horizon, and a crew of shipmates who become closer than family, and Dale thrived in it. His service earned him the Submarine Warfare Insignia, the coveted “dolphins” that mark a true submariner; the SSBN Deterrent Patrol Pin, with a second award; a second Good Conduct Award for the period ending January 1, 1996; the National Defense Service Medal; the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon; and the Humanitarian Service Medal. Ask any submariner what he did down there, and you'll get the same answer Dale always gave with a smile, and a change of subject. Some things stay classified. Some things just become legend.

After this adventure, Dale decided to go back to college. He attended South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and attained a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He did all this while relationship building with his little brother, Darren.

With his degree, Dale began his civilian career as a shipbuilder and learning vessels from the keel up in a way few people ever do. This hands-on knowledge served him well when he found his way to NOAA, where he served as a port engineer for the NOAA Ship the “Rainier”, a hydrographic survey vessel homeported in Newport, Oregon, that maps the ocean floor to keep mariners safe and coastlines understood. Dale kept her running by tending to sonar systems, generators, and all the unglamorous machinery that makes ocean science possible, right up until his unexpected passing, just months shy of a retirement he had been planning for April 2027. He never got to walk off that gangway a free man, but everyone who worked beside him knew he already lived like one.

Long before diesel engines and sonar pings, Dale found his rhythm behind a microphone and in front of an amplifier. In college, he fronted a punk band called Mary Khaos, throwing himself into every performance with the same fearless energy he brought to everything else in life. Dale insisted — often loudly, and often to anyone who would listen — that he was no hipster, a claim that raised more than a few eyebrows among those who ever watched a self-declared, non-conformist take the stage in a genre practically built on being one. Whether he never saw the irony or saw it perfectly and simply didn't care remains an open question. Either way, that was Dale.

Dale's true religion, though, was the outdoors. He rode motorcycles like the road owed him something, hunted and fished across South Dakota's hills and plains, logged countless miles on a bicycle, was a sharp and dedicated marksman, and never once turned down a chance to go cruising with nowhere in particular to be. He loved boats, open water, and the freedom of being far from a desk. And when the sun went down, there was an excellent chance Dale had a microphone in hand at karaoke night, giving a performance every bit as committed as anything he ever did with Mary Khaos. Whatever Dale did, he did all the way. There was no other setting.

At his core, Dale was a non-conformist in the truest sense: not for show, and not for rebellion's sake, but because he simply saw no reason to live any way other than the one that felt honest to him. He served his country, built ships, kept ships running, and never once let anyone tell him who he was supposed to be.

Dale is survived by his longtime girlfriend, Lisa Trimm; his father, Dale Morrison Sr.; his mother, Nancy Morrison; his sister, Dawn Sorenson (John Cunningham); his brother, Darren Morrison (Kimberly Morrison), and his nephew Devin Morrison. He leaves behind a family who loved him fiercely, a partner who shared in his adventures, and a wide circle of shipmates, coworkers, bandmates, and friends who are better for having known him.

Dale Morrison Jr. lived like a man who understood, better than most, how short and how precious the ride really is. He will be remembered for his humor, his fierce independence, his loyalty, and his refusal to ever, ever slow down. Godspeed, Dale, may the road ahead be open, the water calm, and the karaoke machine always warmed up.

Military Honors will be rendered by the U.S. Navy Honor Guard and the VFW Post 1273 at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home front lawn.