Al died August 25, 2021. He was born April 23, 1943, in Douglas County, South Dakota. After high school, he earned a degree from Wartburg College and a Master of Divinity degree from Wartburg Seminary. He interned in Manhattan, N.Y. as a Worker Priest. Al took two mission trips to Nicaragua and Guatemala. His parishes included churches in many locations in South Dakota.

Al jumped at Missoula 1964-66. Prior to that he worked on Blister Rust in Idaho and a hotshot crew in Montana. He and his wife, Carolyn, traveled world-wide during his lifetime.