Alphonse Schaff

Alphonse G. Schaff, 62, Fargo, died Holy Thursday, April 5, 2007 at a Fargo hospital. Alphonse George Schaff was born on August 3, 1944 in Mandan, ND; the second child to Frank G. & Caroline (Wetsch) Schaff. He grew up on the family farm near Solen and attended country grade schools. He served as an altar server at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at Odense. He graduated from Solen High School in 1962. From 1962-1964 he attended Capital Commercial College in Bismarck receiving business administration and accounting degrees. During his college years he worked at the AutoDine, Super Valu store and Conrad Publishing Co as assistant cameraman. Al joined the ND National Guard in 1965; took basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO; advanced training as a Medical Corpsman at Ft. Sam Houston, TX; transferred to the US Army Reserve (active) in 1968; discharged in 1971. After college he worked at the ND State Tax Dept from 1964-74. Al received his real estate license and worked for American Realty from 1974 to 1975. He owned a couple apartments south of the Capitol for a short time. While living in Bismarck, he was active at St. Mary?s Church and served as an usher for many years. In 1975, Al moved to Jamestown where he was the office manager for National Farmers Organization. Their offices merged in 1977 and he moved to West Fargo to continue as the regional manager until 1984. He moved to Fargo where he worked for Heritage Marketing and Precision Marketing. He traveled throughout the US heading up marketing projects and fundraising events. He currently was working for Teleforce and had been with them since 1994. At that time, he had also moved into Winchester Apts and had been the caretaker of the complex until his death. Al was extremely active in the Jaycees. He was a member from 1967-1982 and received 33 awards. He held several offices in the Bismarck Chapter. In 1972-73 he was the State Vice President and later a US Jaycee Director. He continued to hold offices in the Jamestown and West Fargo Chapters and was President of the JCI Senate. Al was very committed to St. Mary?s Cathedral Perpetual Adoration. His Monday night 11 to midnight hour was a priority in his life. Al read many books on the Catholic faith and was interested in the various faiths of his friends. Throughout his life, Al took many classes and courses on a wide variety of subjects such as art, personal growth, health, computer, religion, business law, and professional areas. Al was very interested in photography taking thousands of pictures. He created many albums and always had each picture identified. Whether it was a large collection of photos from a vacation or Jaycees career, or a simple handmade paper album of a one day road trip with his family, Al would be creative with his photos and captions. One of his biggest photo albums was the Teleforce cruise to the Western Caribbean taken with his co-workers in 1996. Al is survived by his brother, Larry, Grand Forks, and his sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Lance Ekberg, Hamill, SD. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his brothers, Ed and Gene. Visitation: Monday, April 9 from 5-9 pm at Boulger Funeral Home, Fargo. Rosary and Prayer Service: Monday at 7:00 pm at the funeral home. Funeral Mass: Tuesday, April 10 at 9:00 am at St. Mary?s Cathedral, Fargo and Tuesday, April 10 at 4:00 pm at St. Mary?s Catholic Church, Bismarck, ND with visitation from 3-4 pm at The church. Interment: Mandan Union Cemetery, Mandan, ND. Arrangements entrusted to Boulger Funeral Home, Fargo and Weigel Funeral Home, Mandan.