Leonard Aalgaard

Leonard Aalgaard Leonard William Aalgaard, 90, of Chaska, Minnesota, formerly of Grand Forks, N.D., died peacefully at home on Wednesday, July 16, 2008. Leonard was born March 27, 1918, son of the late Peter and Anna (Stromme) Aalgaard, on a farm west of Hannaford, N.D. (Griggs County). While stationed at Indiantown Gap, Pa., he met and married his lifelong soul mate, Ruth Seaman, of Grantville, Pa., on July 24, 1943, in Baltimore, Md. He is survived by his four children: daughters, Beverly (George) Radabaugh of McDermott, Ohio; Patricia (Louis) Sanchez of Las Vegas, Nevada and Louise Erickson of Chaska, Minnesota with whom Leonard resided; a son, Richard (Barbara) Aalgaard of Fosston, Minnesota; nine grandchildren: Tracy (Jim) Hall of Ohio; Tad (Heather) Aalgaard of Minnesota; Lucas (Leannie) Aalgaard of Canada; Tomi (Alex) Amelburu of Nevada; Wendy (Paul) Allen of Minnesota; Carrie Taulbee of Maryland; Jack Erickson and fiancé Alicia Johnson of Minnesota; Patrick Hanson and Loreene Arreola of Nevada and Jana (Patrick) O'Leary of Minnesota; 10 great-grandchildren: Jerrod, Erica and Bryson Hall; A.J. and Gavin Amelburu; Raymond and Brendan Taulbee; Calvin and Liam Aalgaard and Lily O'Leary; sister, Stella Larson of Oregon; brothers: Robert (Genevieve) Aalgaard; Sam (Vera) Aalgaard and Albert Aalgaard of California. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Arlene (Seaman); an infant daughter; sisters: Rose, Margaret and Rachel; brothers: Leif and Algot. During his youth, he played baseball, ski jumped, trapped and hunted. He later joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCCs) in April 1936 until the fall of 1940. In the CCCs, he built roads and irrigation ditches, fought forest fires and erected fences for local ranchers. In January 1941, he enlisted into the United States Army. He was involved in the WWII European campaigns, where he received numerous battlefield decorations and citations for actions in Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) and Central Europe. He held the rank of Staff Sergeant, and was honorably discharged on Sept. 25, 1945. He was a life-long member of the VFW Post 3817. After WWII, he returned to his beloved wife and worked as a carpenter for the Hershey Chocolate Corporation in Hershey, Pa. In the fall of 1949, Leonard and Ruth moved to Wahpeton, N.D., where he attended the Wahpeton State School of Science. After receiving his degree in Drafting and Estimating, they moved to Grand Forks in 1951. He was a construction foreman for the old Deaconess Hospital and built a dormitory on the UND campus. A year later, he owned and operated Aalgaard Construction and built residential homes. Additional projects included the construction of University Lutheran Church, where he and Ruth were lifelong members. For 21 years, he worked as the Grand Forks City Building Inspector until his retirement in July 1981. After his retirement, he enjoyed golfing, horseshoe pitching, curling, traveling, tinkering in his garage and doing yard work. In 1982, he was the skip for his team that won the United States Men's Senior National Curling League championship. He was one of the founding members of the Grand Forks Curling Club. Leonard also won a Prairie Rose Game Division title in horseshoes, and was recognized by the Grand Forks Herald as the "Athlete of the Week" at age 72 for his participation in curling, horseshoe pitching and golfing. He loved participating in family activities; such as, playing baseball, competing in backyard games and attending family functions and events. One of his favorite pastimes was playing cards. He also liked watching the Minnesota Twins. Throughout the years, he continuously shared stories and memories from his youth that all of his family members loved hearing. One notable story included his adventures while hunting and trapping with his horse, Nancy, and dog, Sport. Homemade bread, lutefisk and lefse were his favorite foods, which were specially prepared by Ruth. He was a loving and compassionate husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He will be missed tremendously.