Alf was built like a brick, seemingly indestructible. He once jumped off the roof of our house after retrieving a Frisbee. His thud caused my dad to come out thinking we were having an earthquake. Of all the fun times at Roosevelt, the most memorable were our trips to Winnemucca, Nevada. Our friend Dennis Whiting moved there after our sophomore year. We thought Nevada was great because they didn't discriminate much against minors. Among other things, we were able to disprove several theories on beating the Twenty-One dealer. Alf died in a rollover accident near Mount Vernon at age twenty. As his passenger, I was barely scratched. It took me years to begin to comprehend the devastation that his parents must have felt.

Alf was a friend to everyone. He loved to have fun and was always ready to try something new, but he had a serious and soft side too. Because he had two brothers, he enjoyed spending time with my younger sister, who was 4/5 at the time. (She thought he was great and called him "Elf"). Alf died in an automobile accident in 1961 on his way to Bellingham, where Peggy (Button) Kaastrup, Susan (Mullin) Zwiers, and I were attending Western for a quarter. Such a young age ~ he was going to school, had a small business (that one of his brothers ran for awhile), and was just beginning his adult life. There are many fond memories of Alf for so many of us in this class, and when we think of him, we smile.

Alf was a new-found friend at RHS our sophomore year. He and I shared Igor Gladstone's Spanish III - IV class. The class was unique because it was all boys and me. Seated alphabetically, Alf and his friend, Hal Webber, sat behind me. Gladstone was the original Chauvinist pig, and it was always Alf who said (whispered) just the right thing when Gladstone sent forth his discouraging zingers. From time to time, Alf needed a little coaching in the language, and it was my pleasure to help him whenever he asked. I remember his sweet nature to this day and the kindness and generosity of spirit he showed me. So many of us lost a good and true friend that sad day when his car overturned.