Erdahl, H. Elvin 'Al'

H. Elvin “Al” Erdahl, 85, died Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, at the Monticello Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following a courageous battle with cancer. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Monticello, with military honors. The Rev. Daryl Larson will officiate at the services. Friends may call from 4 until 8 p.m. Friday at Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello.

Memorials may be made to St. Matthew Lutheran Church or Above and Beyond Hospice.

Thoughts, memories and condolences may be left at goettschonline.com.

Surviving are his wife, Joyce; a son, Thomas E. Erdahl, and grandchildren, Sean Thomas and Meghan Ann, of Blaine, Minn.; a sister, Julaine (Donald) Christensen of Bloomington, Minn.; a brother, John (Sally) Erdahl of Mankato, Minn.; many nieces and nephews; and his longtime secretary, Mary Brokaw.

Helmer Elvin Erdahl was born Jan. 28, 1928, on a farm near Frost, Minn., the first child of Helmer E. and Sara Ann (Larson) Erdahl. Al graduated from the Albert Lee, Minn., High School in 1946. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving from 1946 until 1948. He then enrolled in the University of Minnesota-Duluth branch before transferring to Drake University in Des Moines. He received his degree in business administration in 1951 and his law degree in 1953.

He established his law practice in Monticello on Sept. 1, 1956, and practiced law until the time of his death. H. Elvin Erdahl and Joyce Herr were married on Oct. 2, 1960, in Cedar Rapids.

Al was a member of St. Matthew Lutheran Church. He was a 60-year member of the Iowa State Bar Association, member of the Jones County Bar Association, belonged to the Burns Masonic Lodge and was a past member and past president of the Monticello Rotary Club.

Published Aug. 4, 2013 in The Gazette