Orville Kenneth Nyhus, 87, of New Hope, Minnesota (formerly of Stanley, North Dakota) was called home to the Lord on Thursday, August 7, 2025, at the North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.

Orville was born on November 21, 1937, in Minot, North Dakota, to Arthur and Cora (Walsvig) Nyhus. He attended school through the eighth grade in Palermo, North Dakota. Orville did not go to high school because his father wanted him to stay home to work the farm. His mother encouraged him to take a correspondence course, which he did. He then attended Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, followed by North Dakota State University in Fargo, where he graduated in 1964 with a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. While attending NDSU, he also took flying lessons to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a pilot. To cap off his path to higher education, he earned a fellowship to attend Montana State University in Bozeman, graduating with his Doctorate in Electrical Engineering in 1969.

His engineering education and interest in aviation were quickly put to good use. Immediately upon graduating, Orville moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to work for Collins Avionics, where he designed aircraft radios and antennas, as well as flew company aircraft to conduct flight tests of the equipment. In 1977, Orville moved to Melbourne, Florida when Collins relocated their avionics department. He worked there for seven years, then pursued a new opportunity with Sperry Flight Systems in Phoenix, Arizona, where he continued to design avionics. Known for his engineering expertise, he was highly sought after to help resolve the most challenging technical difficulties. Sperry Flight Systems was bought by Honeywell in 1986, after which Orville became certified to fly business jets, allowing him to conduct flight tests of avionic systems for that class of aircraft, as well as fly company executives to their various destinations. This led to many travels around the globe, including Canada, Europe, and Australia. Orville retired in 2017 and moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he and fellow retired engineers continued to design avionics on their own initiative.

It was while he was at NDSU that he met and courted Kathryn Marie Eldevik. They were married on September 8, 1962, at Pontoppidan Lutheran Church in Fargo. Her tireless support was indispensable to his academic and career accomplishments. They had five children: three boys and two girls.

In addition to his interests in engineering and aviation, Orville enjoyed camping, fishing, scuba diving, being a ham radio operator, and fixing all things electrical and mechanical, such as radios, TVs, cars, tractors, and aircraft. You name it, he could fix it.

Orville is survived by three sons; Daniel (Barbara) Nyhus, David (Roberta) Nyhus, and Dale (Christy) Nyhus; two daughters, Jennifer Nicoletti and Karen (Ben) Ernyei; nine grandchildren; and seven great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Art and Cora, and his wife, Kathy.

Memorial Contribution