Obituary of Arnold F. Albrecht

Arnold F. Albrecht, age 98 of Yankton passed away on Monday, January 11, 2016 at the Sanford Health Vermillion Care Center, Vermillion. Mass of Christian Burial will be 2:00 PM, Friday, January 15, 2016 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Yankton, SD with Rev. Larry Regynski officiating. Burial will be in Garden of Memories with Military Graveside Rites by the Ernest-Bowyer VFW Post #791 Honor Guard and the SDARNG Honor Guard. Visitations will begin at 5:00 PM, Thursday, January 14, 2016 at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home & Crematory, Yankton, with a rosary at 6:45 PM followed by a Scripture service at 7:15 PM. Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Pallbearers are Tom Merrill, Gerald Mueller, Donald Kniffen, Richard "Dutch" Wooton, Earl Tramp and Donald Hopf. Honorary pallbearers are David Rockne, Clifford Hicks, Don Voudry, Frank Potts and Jim VanOsdel. Arnie Albrecht was born on April 9, 1917 to Frank and Minnie (Tramp) Albrecht at Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, SD. He was the middle child of nine, with four brothers and four sisters. They lived on a farm where Arnie helped with 10 dairy cows, 10 brood sows and 30 head of stock cows. He enjoyed hunting rabbits, which his mother cooked up for the family meals. In 1934, Arnie joined the National Guard right after high school graduation. He trained once a week locally and then went to Camp Rapid near Rapid City for 15 days each spring, earning a dollar a day while there. His unit was mobilized to Fort Ord, near Monterey, CA, where they trained for a year. They boarded a ship and headed for the Philippines. Their ship stopped overnight at Pearl Harbor for supplies, etc., before continuing on, a blessing in disguise, as Pearl Harbor was bombed about one week later. Arnie's unit went to the Fiji Islands for supplies and then on to Camp Darwin in northwestern Australia in jungle country. They unloaded their ships there and then continued 10 miles inland to set up camp. Not long after setting up camp, they saw planes overhead, only to realize it was the Japanese who proceeded to knock out Camp Darwin, where they had landed earlier. Arnie's unit had to clear trees in order to be able to have clear shots for firing their weaponry. Arnie was a gun chief and spent 2 years overseas before getting furloughed back to the states. He trained troops in North Carolina on 6-inch Hauser artillery. After the war, he wanted to farm his father's farm, so he rented it, bought machinery and did that for 5 years. He "realized it was a lot of work for not much income", and then did carpentry work for many years instead. He married his first wife, Georgina Honner on June 20, 1956. She was a 39 year old widow with two children. After only 9 '/2 years of marriage, Georgina died of a heart attack. Arnie quips that "for 15 years I was a free man, doing lots of hunting and fishing." He then dated Doris Schneider for several years before marrying her on June 20, 1980. Arnie continued his hunting and fishing, even though he was no longer a "free man" and he and Doris enjoyed three winters in their travel trailer in Edinburg, TX. Arnie was an avid bingo player and loved to visit and attend sing alongs. Arnie is survived by his wife, Doris Albrecht of Yankton, SD. Arnie was preceded in death by his parents, brothers and sisters: Alvina Foley, Pauline Kamback, Alfred Albrecht, Irma Bilinsky, Helen Sathe, Francis Albrecht, Louis Albrecht and James Albrecht and two step-children, Cheryl and Ronald Honner. Memorials requested in lieu of mass offerings and flowers.