- Date Of Birth: May 11, 1925
- Date Of Death: April 24, 2017
- State: Nebraska
Albert Ahrens of Sedan, Kansas departed this life April 24th at the Jane Phillips Memorial Hospital in Bartlesville, Oklahoma after a major surgery to repair his fractured left femur. He was born May 11, 1925 in Davenport, Nebraska to August and Marie Bohling Ahrens. He graduated from Davenpot High School. He was the “big” athletic hero throughout school. He lettered four years in Davenport football and track. As sophomore fullback, Albert attained all state honors. This was a “first year” for a Davenport player. In the javelin throw, Albert placed fourth at the state meet and set a Southern Nebraska 9 Conference Record. A short time later this javelin event was dropped public schools, leaving Albert with the record forever.
Albert states he, “won many awards in school but the best was my wife Helen.” They were married May 14, 1943.
In 1944 Albert joined the army and was stationed in Hawaii. He was Supply Sergeant and Desk Sergeant as a member of the Military Police Platoon in Occupied Japan in WWII. He graduated Radio School with Morris Code in Hawaii on Oahu Island. Then he left for Japan and arrived in Osaka, Occupied Japan on November 14, 1945.
Following his 1946 discharge, Albert returned to farm near Oak, Nebraska. In 1956, the Ahrens family moved to Idaho. In Idaho, Albert cleared terrain with a CAT dozer to make more room for farming, worked on ranches and irrigated fields, and drilled water wells in Idaho and Utah including the well for Shaffer Pen Company. He also drove a 60 passenger school bus that carried 90 children.
The Ahrens returned to Nebraska to be near Helen’s parents Farmer and Grace Corman of Oak, Nebraska. Albert became the maintenance engineer at Sandy Creek High School. He said the work was very challenging but very rewarding. He loved the job and kids he saw everyday. The high schoolers enjoyed watching for “Big Al” to see what bright cowboy shirt he would wear that day. While at Sandy Creek he was chosen Custodian of the Year as well as became President of the Nebraska Custodian Association. While president he was invited to the Nebraska State Capital two different years by Governor Ben Nelson to establish the National Custodian Day.
In 1986 Albert uncovered a toe bone of a mammoth between Oak and Angus, Nebraska. This find led to digging fossils for around 10 years with the University of Nebraska Lincoln as well as with the top paleontologists Dr. Mike Voorhies and George Corner from Nebraska and Professor Xue Xiang Xu of China. One Nebraska night in the rain, wind, and lightening, Albert Ahrens and his granddaughter TaeRee Glover sat deep in a muddy quarry with their lantern glowing and rain dripping off our hats as they plastered a cast on a foot long front incisor of a 450 pound giant beaver! In 1997, Albert and TaeRee were the guest speakers on paleontology for the Two Year College Chemistry Conference for chemistry professors in Nebraska.
Albert Ahrens was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion of Davenport, Nebraska. He was a member of the Edsel Club for years and drove 2 Edsel station wagons for many years.
Albert and Helen moved to Sedan, Kansas in 2011 where they lived with their daughter Lavena and family. Albert and Helen attended the Sedan Assembly of God. Albert played guitar every Sunday with his grandchildren and friend Durley Williams. Albert started playing guitar when he was 12 years old. Several of his guitar and jamming buddies were Clark Kennison of Nebraska, Larry Russell of the Philippines, Dr. Eldon Wilson of New York, Randy Bauman of Ohio, Curt Jensen of Colorado; Sam Edgar of Colorado, Mat and Jeff Herbek of Idaho, Andrew Herbek of Illinois, Zach Reinke of Illinois, Norman Kirschbaum of Nebraska, Cary and DeWayne Glover of Sedan, Kansas, his granddaughter TaeRee Glover of Kansas and the late Floyd Brown of Edgar, Nebraska as well as many more. In the last several years he spent hours teaching his great grandchildren to play guitar and influenced their lives in the area of music.
Albert is survived by his son Leslie and Tammy Ahrens of Avon, Ohio and his daughter Lavena and her husband Pastor David Sellers of Sedan, Kansas, 16 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
