Harold "Jay" Jacob Opdahl

Mass of Christian Burial for Harold “Jay” Opdahl, 72, of Minneota, will be at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 3, 2026, at St. Edward Catholic Church in Minneota. Visitation will be from 8:30 until 10:00 a.m. at the church prior to the service. Interment with military honors will follow at St. Edward Catholic Cemetery.

Harold “Jay” Jacob Opdahl was born May 19th, 1954, to Harold Opdahl Jr. and Magdalene (Kloos) Opdahl at an army base in Oakland, CA. After his dad, Jr., was honorably discharged from the Army, they made their way back to the family farm in Minneota, MN. Jay attended school in Ghent through the 8th grade and then graduated high school in Minneota, class of 1972. After school, Jay began working for Mclaughlin and Schultz until he joined the army in 1973. He was stationed in Germany for 2 years. After his honorable discharge in 1975, he returned home to Minneota, where he worked as a diesel mechanic at Swedes. He met his forever love, Jackie, in 1981- or as he always referred to her as, “my beautiful bride.” They were married in 1982. To them were born Jay’s four joys in life, Nathan, Anthony, Abby and Charles. The couple moved to their home, south of Minneota, in 1989.

After a few odd jobs, Jay worked in the US postal service in Canby, MN, for many years and eventually retired. Throughout this time, and after “retirement” Jay had many hobbies such as hunting, fishing, and using his mechanical skills to help out friends and farmers in the surrounding area with tractor and truck issues. He always enjoyed tinkering around with things in his shop, making many home improvements and could literally fix anything. Jay also loved camping with his family, taking many trips to the local camp parks, enjoying 34 years at the Crystal Springs Rodeo and even taking his family on an adventure as far as California in their motor home, “The Titanic.” In his later years he continued his hunting and fishing adventures which included fishing trips to the Boundary Waters, ice fishing, elk hunting in Colorado, prairie dog hunting in South Dakota, and when at home, he and Jackie stayed busy with card games, playing billiards, watching Wheel of Fortune and other TV shows (mostly Jay’s old cowboy and army shows) and running after their grandchildren with school events. Jay was extremely proud of being a veteran and thoroughly enjoyed being a Legion member, always helping out with flags, funerals, Bug Day events, dances at the Legion, etc. Jay’s family only ever came second to God. There’s no doubt that he is in heaven right now with his Lord and Savior.

Jay died peacefully at home, surrounded by his loved ones on Sunday, June 28, 2026. He is survived by his wife, Jackie (Coquyt) of Minneota; children, Nathan (Dana) Opdahl of Glenwood, Anthony (Kathy) Opdahl of Taunton, Abby (Brian) Adams of Balaton, Charles (Christy) Opdahl of Brookings; grandchildren, Jackson (Avery), Allie, Lilli, Wyatt, Layla, Liam, Cohen, Riley, Jase and Reese; great-granddaughter, Wrenley; siblings, Judy (Greg) Novotny of Winona, Jim (Andrea) Opdahl of Minneota, Joe (Deb) Opdahl of Visalia, CA, Rob Opdahl (Lucy) of Prescott, WI, Ann (Rod) Abraham of Minneota, Kathy Swanson (Mike) of Pequot Lakes, and many other family and friends.

Jay is preceded in death by his grandparents, father Harold Jr.; mother Magdalene “Sandy”; brother Jon; sister-in-law Licole, and many other friends.