John Ordahl Obituary

Ordahl, O.D.
DR. JOHN A. ORDAHL, O.D.
July 2, 1923
April 16, 2020
John passed away on April 16, 2020 from heart failure. He was a long-time resident of Colorado Springs, moving here in 1951. He was born in Edinburg, ND to Nicolai and Bessie May Ordahl. John was the youngest of 5 children.
John attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN after graduating from high school in Edinburg. He left after his sophomore year to serve in the US and Europe during WWII, from 1943-1946. John returned to Concordia College in 1946 and graduated with a B.A. in 1948. He met his wife, Doris in a history class while attending Concordia College. They were married on June 11, 1950. He attended the Northern Illinois College of Optometry, graduating with a B.S. and Doctor of Optometry in 1950, completing the three-year program in 2 years.
He and Doris moved to Colorado, with their first child, in 1951 where he joined an Optometric practice, eventually purchasing the practice. John had a vibrant practice in Colorado Springs until 1992, when he retired.
John served as a board member for several organizations in Colorado. He was a board member and past president of the Colorado Optometric Association. He sat on the Colorado Optometric State Board of Examiners. He was a board member of Vision Services Plan. He was the past president of the Kiwanis, a board member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, past president of the board at Colorado Springs Country Club, past president of the board at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, member of First Lutheran Church, member of the Garden of the Gods Club, and a service member of the VFW.
John is survived by his children, Elizabeth Ordahl, Dr. John N. Ordahl (Darcy), Susan Howland (Robert), Kathryn Hammersmark (Arthur) and grandchildren, Kai, Shea, John, Mark, Peter and Carolyn.
John was very proud of his military service and was a participant in the Southern Colorado Honor Flight in 2014 with other WWII veterans. He loved his family and enjoyed taking them skiing, camping and fishing. He played tennis and golfed into his 80's at the Garden of the Gods Club. He played cards on a regular basis with a group of friends (The Lunch Bunch) until he was 93, when his vision began to fail. He and Doris were world travelers and enjoyed trips with Ports of Call and other groups.
We would like to thank Home Instead Senior Care for all of the services that they provided. We would also like to thank The Center at Centennial for taking such good care of him in his final days. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Memorial Fund at First Lutheran Church and/or Honor Flight of Southern Colorado:Donate.
A memorial service will be held at a future date.