Obituary of Alfred E. Persch

Alfred E Persch, age 96, died Sunday, May 20th 2018 at Chris Jensen Nursing Home in Duluth. "Big Al" as he was known to his friends was a life-long resident of the Duluth-Superior area. He was born in Stratford, SD to Bertha and Herman H. Persch. Early childhood years were spent in South Dakota with family moving to Morgan Park where he attended and graduated from Morgan Park High School. His interests lay in fishing and sports. In 1941 Al enlisted in the Navy during WWII and was stationed in the Pacific on the SS Wisconsin an Iowa-Classed battleship. He received an honorable discharge and returned to Duluth where he married and started his family. Interest in Duluth politics lead to a successful service on the Duluth city council. Retirement from US Steel lead to a second career working and retiring from the DTA. Active as a union member, he was a union steward and participated in contract negotiations. Al was preceded in death by his wife Marillyn of 45 years. He is survived by his four children, Al Persch Jr., Holly (Dave) Berneker, Lynn (Johnathan) Lewis, Karla (Michael) Miller and adopted son, James McCasey; 3 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at the Minnesota Cremation Society on Saturday, June 2nd at 10:00 am with a visitation beginning at 9:00 am. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Al's name to the Veteran's.