Allen Wahlert

ALLEN 'BUTCH' LEE WAHLERT was born on April 25, 1950 to Leonard and Mavis (Ruddy) Wahlert in Luverne, Minnesota. He was baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran Faith. He attended school in Luverne and graduated in the class of 1969. After high school he worked on his grandparent’s farm and other jobs before ultimately starting his career on the road, driving truck doing long haul runs. In 1973, Al was married to Rebecca Ford. The marriage brought five children and they made their home in Lake Wilson, where they raised their children. They separated in 1991 and Al moved back to Luverne. Al continued long haul trucking and worked for Hommes Trucking out of Rock Rapids, Iowa. Al met Lynn Reu of Luverne and they were married in 1999. They made their home in Luverne until 2011 when they moved to an acreage near Adrian, Minnesota. He retired from long haul trucking in 2003 and began working on a harvest crew for Krumbach Harvesting out of Parker, South Dakota; the crew would start in Texas and make their way back to Minnesota. In 2010, Al suffered a stroke, which lead to his full retirement. In March of 2014, Al had a heart attack followed by a triple bypass surgery. He died on Sunday, May 18, 2014 at the Sanford Luverne Hospital at the age of 64.

Al loved the outdoors, whether it was fishing, motorcycling, driving his truck or riding horse. He was passionate about his horse and his relationship with “Skids” was very therapeutic especially after his stroke. Al enjoyed the time he spent with his family and especially his grandchildren. He always wanted to know what they were up to and insisted on them filling him in with the details of their lives. Al liked to travel. His years as a long haul trucker took him to numerous states and he enjoyed the several vacation trips he took to Sturgis, South Dakota for the rally.

He is survived by his wife Lynn; his five children, Robert Ford, William Ford, Christen Wahlert, Chad Wahlert, and Joel Wahlert; Lynn’s children, Lisa (John) Teune, Tony Reu, Karla Olson, Kari (Dave) Mess, and Wendy Worthington; 21 grandchildren, 5 great-grandchildren, and many other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parent’s Leonard and Mavis Wahlert and a sister, Linda.