Reverend Lauren "Bud" Egdahl, age 94, of Northfield, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, at Cottages on Forest-Three Links Care Center. Lauren Ingman Egdahl was born to John and Alice (Rekstad) Egdahl on May 3, 1927, in Eau Claire, WI, the second of three sons. He was baptized, confirmed, married, and ordained in his home church, First Lutheran Church of Eau Claire. After his birth, he remained unnamed, as his parents were anticipating that their second child would be a girl and had only chosen female names for this newborn. An aunt suggested that they turn the maternal and paternal Grandmother’s female names into male names, Laura to Lauren and Ingeborg to Ingman. Alas, he was given a name! Prior to his naming, the hometown physician carried this newborn boy with him on his hospital rounds and introduced the baby as his “Buddy Boy.” Hence, the nickname that would last a lifetime - Bud! He was delighted that he shared the name Lauren with granddaughter Lauren Harlow and great grandson Loren Davis. We always tried to capture an annual photo of the “Three Laurens/Loren” when we gathered at the lake. Bud always described his childhood in Eau Claire as idyllic. He cherished the freedoms of living in a small town where he could spend his days at Carson Park or Half Moon Lake. He loved all outdoor activities - swimming, fishing, skating, sledding, hockey, baseball, and ski jumping! He was a student of music, playing the piano and cornet. He played in the city band in his youth and was first chair in his high school band. Bud was senior class president and graduated from Eau Claire High School as a member of the National Honor Society. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduation and attended boot camp at the Great Lakes Training Center in Chicago. Because of his excellent typing skills, he became a specialist for “Captain Eddy”, transcribing radar and sonar information. After a year in the Navy, he enrolled at St. Olaf College where he followed high school sweetheart, Mary Tanner. They both graduated from St. Olaf in 1950. The night before Bud began his junior year in high school, he met Mary Tanner. He had been asked to play the piano at the Sunday evening reception welcoming the new Pastor and family to First Lutheran. Bud was not excited to spend his last summer night playing piano at church until he was told that Pastor Tanner had four daughters around his age - each one more beautiful than the next! Sign me up, he replied! Bud and Mary spent the evening getting acquainted. That fateful evening of playing piano led to a courtship of eight years and 54 plus years of marriage. Bud and Mary were married on June 9, 1951, by Mary’s father, Pastor Agnar Tanner, and her grandfather, Pastor Jacob Tanner. Bud attended Luther Theological Seminary and they spent his year of internship in Long Beach, California which would whet his whistle for a future life on the West Coast. His first call upon graduation from Luther was to First Lutheran Church in Ellendale, Minnesota, where their first two children (Mary Elizabeth and James Tanner) were born. The new family lived in Ellendale from 1954-57. He then accepted the call to found a new church in La Puente California, a suburb of Los Angeles. He served the new Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church from 1957 to 1964. During this time their third child was born (Alice Louise). While at Mt. Calvary Bud was one of the founding members of the California Lutheran Educational Foundation that formed in 1957 to promote the development of a Lutheran college in California. Two years later, California Lutheran University was founded in Thousand Oaks. He then belonged to the Convocation for many years, the group of Lutheran church leaders who elect CLU’s Board of Regents. In 2007, Bud was bestowed the Christus Award from CLU with his family present. In 1964 he accepted a call to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Chula Vista, California, south of San Diego. It was here that his family grew up and went to school. In 1968 Bud was asked to be the chairman of the Chula Vista Board of Ethics, which led to two simultaneous careers! Pastor of St. Mark’s and nine years as a City Councilman, with one of those years as mayor pro tem. He thrived serving a religious community and a secular community, both of which utilized his amazing people skills in different ways. Bud’s final call was in 1979 to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lafayette, California just east of San Francisco. Upon his “retirement” 13 years later he served as a Stewardship Specialist to the Bishop of the Sierra Pacific Synod and was interim Bishop for a brief time. In 2016, Bud left the West Coast to return to his roots in the Midwest. Where else does a retired Lutheran minister go….but Northfield, MN! Town motto: Northfield. Cows, Colleges and Contentment! With two grandchildren in attendance at St. Olaf College, a daughter 50 minutes to the north, the cabin 4 hours away, and many old friends in town, this proved to be a perfect move for the last years of Bud’s life. Bud and Mary led four overseas trips as tour hosts/pastor including to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau in Germany, as well as Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, Egypt and Israel. Bud was also the onboard pastor for a number of cruises, their favorite being those to the Baltics. These trips satisfied the many interests that Bud and Mary shared: travel, art, music, history, their Norwegian ancestry, and the love and company of family and friends. Bud was also a car lover from an early age. He kept a log of all of the cars he purchased and sold throughout his lifetime. Anyone who knew Bud knew this about him…he loved popcorn! He regularly made a huge bowl of “long hand” stovetop popcorn for us all to enjoy with him. During his early courtship years with Mary, Bud was introduced to Minnesota cabin life. They were often guests at Mary’s grandfather, Jacob Tanner’s, cabin at Camp Nidaros on Walker Lake. Bud and Mary purchased property on neighboring Ottertail Lake in 1963 where they built a cabin for their family. The Egdahl family made the trek to and from California to Minnesota every summer, visiting and camping in National Parks along the way. Memories were made! Ottertail Lake and this special cabin, “Solstrand,” has been a gathering place for family and extended family for nearly 60 years and will continue to be so for years to come. God richly blessed Bud throughout his life, and Bud has blessed those whose lives he touched. Bud lived to serve his Lord and loved to serve his Lord. Thanks be to God for the life of Rev. Lauren “ Bud” Egdahl! Bud was preceded in death by his wife Mary Tanner Egdahl, his parents, and his brothers John and Roger. He is survived by his three children: Mary Elizabeth Palm of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, James Loken (Elizabeth) of Santa Clarita, California, and Alice Egdahl Harlow (Granville) of Minnetonka, Minnesota; grandchildren Natalie Palm (Jimmy)Davis, Chris (Michelle) Palm, Julia and Siri Loken, Lauren and Gray Harlow; great grandchildren Loren, Ruthie, Britta, Anya Davis and Milo Palm ; his sister-in-law Alice Tanner Govig of Tacoma, WA and many nieces and nephews. We all will miss him greatly but are filled with gratitude for having him in our lives. The family wishes to thank ALL the staff at Cottages on Forest at Three Links for their tender care for Bud, with extreme gratitude to Chaplain Clark Cary for his ministry and friendship; Tom and his team with Allina Hospice for nurturing and guiding us through the process of death; and to Deb at NRC who was more than just Bud’s caregiver at the Northwood Pines through the 2020-2021 pandemic years…she had to be his family embodied. A Celebration of Life service will be at Bethel Lutheran Church, on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, beginning at 2:00 PM. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service in the church. To watch the service livestream go to https://www.bethelnorthfield.org/ Memorials preferred to The St.Olaf Fund, in honor of Bud Egdahl, at St. Olaf College and Luther Seminary in honor of Bud Egdahl. Arrangements by Bierman Funeral Home and Crematory. biermanfuneralhome.com.