Family, friends and area officials filled the sanctuary of St. Olaf’s Church at 11 a.m. Monday to remember Mower County’s 5th District commissioner and board chairman David “Tolly” Tollefson.

Tollefson was born Feb. 25, 1937 in Rushford and married Peggy Otto on July 23, 1961, in Redwood Falls. He died Dec. 4.

“He was an excellent person,” Commissioner Ray Tucker said before the service. “He was a big asset to our board. Very pleasant to work with. We’ll miss him. There’s no doubt about that.”

Tucker described Tollefson as an asset to the city of Austin and Mower County, both as a businessman and an official.

Tucker was scheduled to attend the annual conference for the Association of Minnesota Counties Monday, but canceled to attend Tollefson’s funeral.

Tollefson and Tucker served together on the business committee, and Tucker said Tollefson was excellent for that role.

“His humor — it was fun to work with,” Tucker said. “He always brought a different outlook on problems.”

Family friend Kathy Fielding spoke during the service and shared her memories of Tollefson. She called him the “quintessential pub master,” a storyteller and a confidante: “I believe ‘Tolly’ held more secrets than a priest holding confession, and he was every bit as discrete.”

While she talked mostly about Tollefson’s personality and her memories of him, she talked briefly about his 11-month battle with cancer.

Tollefson’s children Kersten, Kyle and Brian insisted on holding Thanksgiving in the hospital with their father, and they decorated the house for Christmas as a surprise.

Fielding also mentioned his good attitude during his stint with cancer: “I can still hear him say when describing the latest treatment that was planned: ‘We’ll give it a go, what the hell.'”

Fielding said many people didn’t know “Tolly” would frequently dance and sing karaoke with one of his favorite songs being “I Love This Bar.”

One of the last time she saw Tollefson, he was on oxygen and having a hard time breathing, but “he still told me a joke — unfortunately I can not share it with you,” she said attracting laughs from many in attendance.

Aside from owning Tolly’s Time Out, Tollefson also worked as a salesman, drove school bus and was a softball umpire.

Fielding described Tollefson as an avid Minnesota sports fan, and said he also enjoyed playing cards, and getting to know people.

Fielding and her husband, Ron, often went on road trips and went to a cabin with the Tollefsons. She recalled Tollefson’s response to returning home late from one of these trips: “This is the earliest I’ve ever been late,” he said.

Family friend Allan Krejci also spoke, and described “Tolly” as someone who could be gruff and stubborn, but was still charming. “Tolly” also had strong opinions he didn’t hesitate to express.

Tollefson was a man who had a large circle of friends and was easy to like and get along with.

“It wasn’t hard to like him,” Krejci said. “To truly like him, in fact, it was easy.”

Family friend Gretchen Ramlow, who also shared memories during the service, said everyone was better for having known “Tolly,” and he was a person who brought extra fun into life.

City Administrator Jim Hurm said he’ll remember Tollefson for his work on the board, specifically his support to keep the Mower County Jail and Justice Center in downtown Austin.

“We’re going to miss him on the board,” Hurm said. “He did a great job of representing his district.”