Alvin Clarence Sommer, 104, passed away on November 12, 2021 at the Regional Health Services of Cresco, IA.
Alvin was born on September 30, 1917 in Fillmore County in Minnesota, the son of Edwin and Della Sommer. He was baptized and confirmed at the Granger Lutheran Church. He attended the Daisy Valley and Granger School up to the 8th grade. Alvin worked on the family farm around Granger, MN and Culbert Implement Shop in Cresco until he was drafted into the U.S. Army on February 17, 1945 and was honorably discharged as a Tec. 4 on December 6, 1946. His training was at Camp Maxey, Powderly, Texas and then shipped out to Yokohama, Japan where he served as an Automotive Mechanic with the 63rd Field Artillery Battalion on Honshu and Kyushu, Japan during World War II. Alvin did travel through Hiroshima twice after the atomic bomb had been dropped. He said he would never forget the after effects it left and the lives that were lost. He was a Life Member of Veteran of Foreign Wars and an American Legion member. He was a remarkable man and proud to serve the country he loved so much.
Alvin was united in marriage on May 24, 1949 to Naomi Krueger at the Evangelical Church in Cresco. Naomi was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1986. Alvin worked for International Harvester, Keune and Balk, and Keune Brothers before they moved to Stillman Valley, IL in 1962 where Alvin worked for 15 years for Fastener Division (Camcar) and 5 years for Lude Truck Sales before retiring back to Cresco. Retiring was not for Alvin, he was always a hard worker. He did lawn mowing and snow removal, drove cars from auctions for H & S Motors and Cresco Motor Company. For about 18 years, he drove to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to take part in Immanuel Lutheran Church’s service project. Even when Alvin lived in the Evans Assisted Living apartments, he helped out in the laundry room, folding clothes and wherever else he was needed he was happy to help. He needed to keep busy. We could go on and on about his life, but there are just too many things he did to help so many.
Alvin is survived by many nieces, nephews and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife, Naomi, his sister: Marian and her husband Elmer Peter; four brothers and their wives: Marvin and Dorothy Sommer; Carl and Ora Mae Sommer; Harold and Mary Sommer; and Virgil Sommer, and a nephew Jeff Sommer.
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