Alvah "Alvy" Lee Alger

Alvah Lee Alger Alvy was born October 5th, 1934 in Cass Lake, Minnesota and passed away on October 21st at his home in Deer River, surrounded by his family.

Alvy was the first child of Gerald and Freelove (Mohawk) Alger. He grew up primarily in the Cass Lake and Schley Minnesota area, with stints in California and Kansas as the family followed work. Times were tough and the Algers' never had a lot of money. Alvy learned to work hard to help earn money for the family, which eventually grew to 13 siblings.

Alvy worked a wide variety of jobs over the years-logging, running a sawmill and firewood operation, working in a machine shop, ricing, blacktopping and installing septic systems, running a commercial concrete forming crew, doing building construction with his brother Duane, and working at the Northern Lights Casino in his later years- a job that he truly enjoyed as he was an admitted "people person", and he got to meet and visit with a lot of folks. It was during his time there that people gave him the nickname, "The Voice" upon hearing his melodic, resonant voice doing announcements. Most of them didn't realize that Alvy had performed as a lead singer and guitarist in "Country Swing" bands when he was younger.

Alvy worked at the Casino until he was 85 years old, only leaving then when the country was shut down due to Covid.

Alvy married Faye Partridge in 1955, and they had 4 children together- Alvah Jr., Burton, Shelley, and Sherry. While Alvy and Faye's marriage ended in divorce in 1964, they remained on friendly terms for the rest of their lives. Alvy married Geneva Ludwig in 1966, bringing Ginny's daughter Delarie into the Alger family as well. After raising their own children, Alvy and Ginny opened their home to foster children, eventually taking in brothers Kenny Budreau and Garret White- who they raised as their own sons. Alvy and Ginny celebrated 50 years of marriage before her passing in 2017.

Alvy could often be heard saying, "family is everything", and nothing gave him more joy than having a gathering of family and friends to share an evening with. Alvy never turned away anyone in need, and his couch was often occupied by someone that had nowhere else to go.

Alvy was an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe of Wisconsin, and he was very proud of his native ancestry.

Alvy was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Faye, his wife Geneva, brothers Don, infant brother Vernon, Duane, Keith, Ronald, Knute, Willy, Emmett, and sisters Geraldine and Donna, and a grandson, Christopher.

He is survived by sisters Lenora, Margaret, and Rosie, his children Alvy Jr (Velma), Burton (Laurie), Shelley (Wade), Sherry (Lance), Delarie (Don), Kenny, and Garret. 20 grandchildren, 37 great grandchildren, and 8 great-great grandchildren. He is also survived by his, "best and oldest friend", Salvador Calderon, who he met in Kansas as a teen and remained lifelong friends with.

It is difficult to sum up the life of a someone with such a big personality and wealth of experiences as Alvy in a few paragraphs. We are all going to miss his wit, humor, heart, and joy for life. In his memory, stop in and have coffee and a good visit with someone- just like Alvy would.

We were able to celebrate Alvy's 90th birthday on October 5th at the Ball Club Community Center. Over 100 family and friends came out to celebrate with him, and it warmed his heart so much to have everyone there. We are choosing to honor him in this as a celebration of life, one that he was able to attend himself. The family will have a private burial at a later date.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Alvah "Alvy" Lee Alger, please visit our floral store.