Ragnhild Andresen Dahle, 102, of Bristol, passed away peacefully Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015 surrounded by her family. Ragnhild was born in Notodden, Norway on Feb. 21, 1913 and was the loving wife of the late Thorolf Dahle.
Ragnhild left home in 1939 at age 26 to spend a summer in Rye, New York, working as a governess to a family with two children. While there she met and fell in love with Thorolf Dahle, a dashing Norwegian who was employed as a butler for another family in Rye at the time. The two married and moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1939. Yet soon after, Ragnhild’s visa expired, and she was forced to return to Norway for six months. Fortunately, she made it back to New York, and her husband, just in time — she boarded the last passenger ship out of Norway before the German occupation of WWII.
Ragnhild, who was known as Reggie among her friends, lived in Brooklyn for 35 years, where she raised two daughters, Sandra and Linda. In 1974, Ragnhild and Thorolf moved to North Farm in Bristol. Ragnhild happily lived there for 39 years and was very engaged in the community: she was a skilled bridge player, regularly playing with a ladies group once a week, and was a member of the garden and women’s clubs as well. Ragnhild also enjoyed knitting — Norwegian sweaters and cable-knit blankets were her specialties — and baking sweets that she learned to make as a girl in — such as pound cake, thumbprint cookies and caramel pudding, a Christmas favorite. During her time as North Farm, Ragnhild came to make many friends: she was known for her kindness, optimism and ever-present smile.
Ragnhild is survived by her two daughters, Sandra Dahle Henry and Linda Dahle Molvar; two sons-in-law, Joseph Henry and Allen Molvar; three grandchildren, Christopher Molvar, Alyssa Citarella and Kari Kim; and four great-grandchildren, Heather Citarella, Katie Citarella, Chloe Kim and Jemma Kim.
A celebration of Ragnhild’s life will take place at 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 24 at St. John’s Church in Barrington. The family would also like to thank the staff and residents of Atria Barrington for their warmth and loving care.
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