auf Wiedersehen, Herr Alt

I always called him "Herr Alt," as did many of his friends. After all, he had come from Germany as a young boy. If I'm correct, he grew up in Bonners Ferry where his older brother still lives. His brother frequently greets parishioners at St. Ann's Parish in Bonners Ferry.

I first saw Al Alt at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Sandpoint. This Wednesday, his family, friends and colleagues will say good bye or "auf Wiedersehen" to Herr Alt. He died Saturday night after another round of cancer. Al was one tough guy, and he beat his cancer a few years ago. That victory meant some quality years of retirement to spend with his beloved wife Margaret.

Both were teachers for more than two decades in our school system. Margaret taught elementary school while Al taught several disciplines at Sandpoint High School. Many students knew him as their shop teacher, while in later years, he offered German classes for some much appreciative students. One, I believe, even majored in German when she went to college. Al was a football, wrestling and track coach. He taught driver's training.

I'd forgotten about his driver's training stint, but Tina Gustaveson Wilson (SHS 1978) hadn't. She shared a few of her memories of Al on the www.sandpointhigh.com website yesterday. I'm sure Tina won't mind if I borrow her words for readers this morning.


It was with tears this morning that I found out that Al Alt passed away in the night. I was fortunate to have Mr. Alt as my wood shop teacher and my drivers education teacher. He survived them both and that was really something.

I was in the first woodshop class that girls were allowed to take. Mr. Alt had such patience with this girl who had no experience, I still remember I made a dictionary stand and then a desk. Mr. Alt taught us how to read legal descriptions written in aliquot parts, something that I still use today.

But his real courage came from teaching me how to drive, in one particular lesson, we had to drive over the long bridge (what is now the walking bridge) and I was scared to death I would run off the side and land in the water. Mr. Alt calmly told me that such a thing would never happen because he had confidence in me. I made it across the long bridge with no problems. His words made all the difference to me.

I am sure that everyone has more memories of Mr. Alt, I know that he coached football for many years. I have had the opportunity to see Mr. Alt a time or two since graduation and he always remembered who I was. Mr. Alt you will be sadly missed.

As one who worked with Al for years, I remember a great sense of humor, a genuine interest shown in any conversation, and an intensity to move on to the next thing. It seemed like Al always had something important to get done. And, he certainly accomplished a lot during his life, sharing his knowledge with so many young people and being a good friend.

As one of Terry Iverson's construction buddies, Al came out once to repair a problem our bathroom. He was all business but never made us feel like we needed to get out of the house while he worked. We no longer live in that house, and so I no longer go in that bathroom, thinking of Al who reinforced the floor and put down new linoleum.

My most recent memories of Al will be all the times I saw him and Margaret out for their walks. They lived over on the west side of town near the high school, but it was not uncommon to see them just about anywhere in town, walking together, staying healthy from both of their bouts with cancer. It was obvious that they were a loving couple who enjoyed each other's company. They had two sons, Mike and Jimmy.

As we get to this stage in life, it becomes old hat to say that the obituaries of people we know are coming all too often. When the obituary concerns part of the teaching family with whom we worked for so many years, the impact becomes much more significant. Al Alt was a good man, a wonderful educator and a fine friend to all who knew him.

We, of the SHS family---especially the 'old guard', are saddened this morning to say "auf weidersehen" to this fine man who was always so generous with his talents, especially when it came to molding young people's lives.