Valfrid Edward Dinvald

Valfrid E. Dinvald (Val), age 83, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed away on July 27, 2021, at home with his family by his side.

Val was born on April 16, 1938 in Riga, Latvia, the son of Edward and Milda (Kazeks) Dinvalds. During the early days of the Soviet occupation, his family fled from Latvia to Germany where he lived in Valka-Lager, a displaced persons' camp, for four years with his parents and brother, Raymond Dinvalds. They then immigrated to America to start a new life. Val once told a funny story about how when he first arrived in the US, he saw the word "curve" on a street sign, which he read as "kurvis" which means "basket" in Latvian. He laughed about how he spent a long time looking out of the car window in search of that basket.

Val graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1956. He then attended Western Michigan University, where he excelled at physics, mathematics, and science. Civil Air Patrol and aviation were some of his favorite activities. He enjoyed learning the art of flying and landed many pontoon planes on Austin Lake.

On October 24, 1959, he was united in marriage to his loving wife, Lynn (Worsham) Dinvald, who survives. They had three children: Phillip Eduard Dinvald, who died prematurely, Katharine (Mark) Patterson of Portage, Michigan, and Michael (Beth) Dinvald of Cleveland, Ohio.

Val joined the workforce with First National Bank, which later became First of America, and is now PNC. He worked for the bank for 36 years and was instrumental in installing their first ever computer, which was so large that they had to remove an entire wall of the building in order to get it inside. Val took pride in automating his tasks, working himself right out of his former position and into a new one he created by learning new things. He spent some of his career in management and then ended his career by producing videos for the bank. He was once filming in a small boat on Portage Creek when the boat started filling with water! Luckily, nothing was harmed during this incident…..neither equipment nor man.

A blessing to Val and Lynn are their three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Val very much enjoyed their company, teaching them about computers, and taking them to concerts and events around town. They traveled together to Disney World in May 2018, which was a very special occasion for all.

If you know Val, you also know that he loved to travel and to play golf. His favorite vacation was to Hawaii with Lynn in 1984. He loved the beauty of the islands. They took a sailboat trip on the Oscarina to Lanai for a picnic. Val played golf in the Mosel Open every year without fail and won the tournament and coveted green hat several times. He was also on a few leagues.

In accordance with Val's wishes, cremation has taken place. A Celebration of Val's life will be held from 5-7pm on August 13 at Langeland Family Funeral Home, 3926 South 9th Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49009. Private interment will be held at a later date at Mt. Ever-Rest Cemetery.

Contributions in Val's memory may be directed to Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries.

To view Valfrid's personalized webpage please visit https://www.langelands.com