Alvah Leroy Macer

Alvah L. Macer, age 93, lifetime resident of Clark County, died peacefully on Wednesday evening October 2, 2013 in the Golden Living Center at Clark with family at his side. Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 6, 2013 from 5-7 with a Prayer/Sharing time at 6 PM at the Furness Funeral Home at Clark and visitation will continue on Monday morning after 9 AM at the Church. Funeral Services will be held on Monday, October 7, 2013 at 10:30 AM at the St. Paul Lutheran Church in Clark with the Reverend Robin Schaunaman officiating. The organist will be Dorothy Fuller with special music by Roger Nordhus and Wendy Christman. The honorary casketbearers will be his great-grandchildren and the grandchildren will serve as active casketbearers. Burial with full military honors will follow in the Rose Hill Cemetery at Clark. Military honors will be provided by the Cagley-Smith American Legion Post #60 of Clark and the South Dakota Air Army National Honor Guard. Alvah LeRoy Macer was born on July 19, 1920 to Charles and Esther (Sutton) Macer. He was baptized and confirmed at the Plymouth Congregational Church of Clark. Later he became a member of Crocker Lutheran Church and when he retired and moved to Clark he joined St. Paul Lutheran Church. In 1929, Alvah moved with his parents to a farm north of Crocker where he finished grades 4-8. When entering high school, during the week he resided with Mrs. Elizabeth Parkhill. He graduated from Clark High School in 1938 and attended SDSU for 3 ½ years before joining the Marine Corp in the fall of 1942. He served in the Pacific at Tarawa and Iwo Jima during World War II. During these two battles, he received Purple Hearts for wounds from each battle. Alvah was discharged from the Marines in November 1945. One of the highlights of his life was going on the Honor Flight to Washington, DC in 2010 to see the World War II Memorial. Alvah married Mildred Brekke on May 20, 1945 at St. Paul Lutheran Church. The couple lived and raised their five children on a farm in Woodland Township. During this time Alvah and Mildred worked side by side on the farm raising cattle, sheep and chickens along with farming. "Once a Marine Always a Marine" was the motto that he lived by all of his life. For everyone who knew him the hard work and skills learned during his time as a Marine played a large part in his success both on the farm and in his daily life. After 34 years of farming, they built a home in Clark and retired in August 1980. In 1984, Mildred passed away after 38 years of marriage. After this time Alvah found himself spending countless hours working in his yard, sending e-mails to everyone, or playing 9 holes of golf with the "guys". For the past 30 years, he and Doris Geise spent many hours traveling, visiting, and enjoying "happy hour" with friends. He will be remembered for his sense of humor, love of his family and his ability to keep up on local and national issues up until his death. Alvah loved baseball and was an avid player and fan especially of the Minnesota Twins. He is best known for his amateur baseball playing days for Bradley as a pitcher. In the early 60's, he and Palmer Flatten started the youth baseball program at Crocker. Alvah held memberships in Clark Masonic Lodge, helped organize the Crocker Legion Post later transferring to the Clark Legion Post, served on the Woodland Township Board and the Woodland School Board. He was the chairman of the planning committee of the reorganization of Clark Independent School District in the late 50's. After the reorganization, he became a member of the Clark School Board for nine years. Alvah was responsible for starting the Willing Woodlanders 4-H Club which he then served as leader for many years. Survivors include children, Carol (Keith) Stobbs, Miller SD; Rodger (Deb) Macer, Rapid City, SD; Kendall (Renee) Macer, Cloverdale, CA; Jennifer (Jim) Aalbers, Harrisburg, SD. Ten grandchildren Kelle (Gaylen) Hansen, Kaylene (Bryan) Ingalls, Ashley Aalbers all of Sioux Falls, SD; Tawnya (Kris Venable) Parks of Houston, TX; Robert (Tracy) Kamstra of Bennington, NE; Jodi (Koy) Sauer, Charleston, SC; Matthew Macer, Houston, TX; Brandon (Chris) Macer, Napa, CA; Joshua Macer, Pollockvilles, NC; Desire Macer, Cloverdale, CA; and 12 great grandchildren Miah, Chloe, Hayden, Madison, Dawson, Madeline, Monique, Dwight, Violet, Haleigh, Corbin, and Hunter. He is also survived by a very special friend, Doris Geise, Clark, SD. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, a daughter Janice Macer and a twin brother at birth. Memorials can be made to Prairie Lakes Hospice, Clark American Legion or St. Paul Lutheran Church outside landscaping fund. Funeral arrangements are with the Furness Funeral Home at Clark where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com