Albert O. "Al" Dutcher

DUTCHER, ALBERT O.

Albert O. Dutcher, age 96 of Yankton passed away early Thursday morning, July 14, 2016 at the Human Services Center, Yankton.

You always knew where you were with Albert! And you always knew where he was standing on everything else. He was open about his opinions and willing to engage in spirited, real give and take discussions – unless you were his wife or children and then he was going to be pretty much in charge. For the majority of his working career, Albert was a salesman. He was the kind you actually wanted to encounter: honest, and wanting to help you get what you wanted. He had no need to help you into something you didn’t want and would only have buyer’s regret later. He was interested in you and in life making him interesting to sit over coffee with most of the time. He had wide ranging curiosity, avid sportsman’s hobbies, and one of those steel trap minds. So when Alzheimer’s crept up on him, eating mercilessly at those brain cells, dragging him backwards into intermittent forgetfulness and darkness, he fought in the way we all do in crazy-making desperate situations: denying, raging, withdrawing or crashing about making bad choices. The miracle that happened was there at the near-end when he could still almost make sense of why and how, when he finally became still inside himself accepting the increasing ravages of loss and simply became loving.

Albert was born in Nebraska second to last into a family of eight children. In country grade schools even in the lower grades he was the one to get the big school play parts because he could memorize all the lines. He graduated from Yankton High School meeting his sweetheart Grace soon thereafter. He had two years of business school and college, marrying at 21. Near the end of WWII Uncle Sam sent a draft notice; Albert left his very young daughter and wife for God and country. Returning, Albert began his sales career and never looked back. He spent many years on the road travelling, selling, and was almost always home on Friday night for supper. Mistakenly thinking he was going to die young, Albert took early retirement to hunt, golf, bowl, fish and watch sports. He didn’t die young instead leaving us so recently at 96.

Albert is recently predeceased by his wife, Grace, of 74 years. He was the last survivor of his sibling group, and was also predeceased by his first granddaughter Cynthia Weaver. He is survived by two sisters-in-law Lee Dutcher and Phyllis Dutcher, three children: Jeanette Bailey, Dan and Terry Dutcher; five granddaughters: Sherrie Shunk, Sandra Tengram, Mindy Early, Melissa and Kristina Dutcher; many nieces and nephews, extended family and friends. He was active in the Knights of Columbus, the VFW, and at St. Benedict’s parish.