1928
Albert
2012
Albert (Al) DeKoning
October 16, 1928 — May 23, 2012
Albert Theodore DeKoning, 83, former mayor and fire chief at Sunburst, passed away at Peace Hospice in Great Falls May 23, 2012 following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Funeral mass will be Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Sunburst with burial following at Sunburst Cemetery.
Albert, known as Bud to some, and simply Al to most, was born on October 16, 1928 and raised in Malta, Montana. He attended Caroll College and went on to the U.S.Army Signal School after joining the National Guard, then continued his education at the RCA Institute in New York, NY.
While in New York, he met and married Mary Ellen Dollan. Afterwards, from 1955 to 1957, he took a position with Federal Electric Corp. as a technical representative attached to the US Air Force at various locations around the country, including a stint in Anchorage, Alaska. Mary and Al’s son, Carl Anthony DeKoning, was born in 1956 in the Bronx, New York. Afterwards, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where Al worked for the Motorola Company for a while. They then returned to Montana, and Al worked for the Northern Telephone Cooperative in Shelby, and then in Sunburst where he stayed until retiring in 1991. He was divorced from Mary Ellen soon after moving to Sunburst, and she passed away in 1968.
Albert then met RoseMary Baron-Kline while living in Sunburst, and the two were soon married. Al and RoseMary had two sons, John Thomas DeKoning, born in 1969, and Phillip Albert DeKoning, born in 1975. While there he served as Mayor as well as Traffic Court Judge for the City of Sunburst, and spent several years as Chief of the Sunburst Volunteer Fire Department. Al was also a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.
In February of 1995, RoseMary passed away from a sudden heart attack. The Summer of 2000, Al moved from Sunburst to Great Falls in order to be closer to remaining family, as well as medical facilities in order to treat his Parkinson’s disease. In September of 2000, his son Carl perished in an auto accident.
In his remaining years, Albert has enjoyed activities at the Great Falls Senior Center with his sister JoAn, as well as visiting with his nearby extended family members.
Albert is survived by his sister JoAn, two sons; John and Phillip; three grand children; Aliese, Angela, and Patrick; great granddaughter McKenna and daughters-in-law Vicky DeKoning and Stacy Schauer-DeKoning, as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews in the United States and Holland. Online condolences may be made at www.whittedfuneralchapel.com.
Farewell, Albert; Father, Husband, Brother, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, and most of all, Friend.
Albert, known as Bud to some, and simply Al to most, was born on October 16, 1928 and raised in Malta, Montana. He attended Caroll College and went on to the U.S.Army Signal School after joining the National Guard, then continued his education at the RCA Institute in New York, NY.
While in New York, he met and married Mary Ellen Dollan. Afterwards, from 1955 to 1957, he took a position with Federal Electric Corp. as a technical representative attached to the US Air Force at various locations around the country, including a stint in Anchorage, Alaska. Mary and Al’s son, Carl Anthony DeKoning, was born in 1956 in the Bronx, New York. Afterwards, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where Al worked for the Motorola Company for a while. They then returned to Montana, and Al worked for the Northern Telephone Cooperative in Shelby, and then in Sunburst where he stayed until retiring in 1991. He was divorced from Mary Ellen soon after moving to Sunburst, and she passed away in 1968.
Albert then met RoseMary Baron-Kline while living in Sunburst, and the two were soon married. Al and RoseMary had two sons, John Thomas DeKoning, born in 1969, and Phillip Albert DeKoning, born in 1975. While there he served as Mayor as well as Traffic Court Judge for the City of Sunburst, and spent several years as Chief of the Sunburst Volunteer Fire Department. Al was also a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.
In February of 1995, RoseMary passed away from a sudden heart attack. The Summer of 2000, Al moved from Sunburst to Great Falls in order to be closer to remaining family, as well as medical facilities in order to treat his Parkinson’s disease. In September of 2000, his son Carl perished in an auto accident.
In his remaining years, Albert has enjoyed activities at the Great Falls Senior Center with his sister JoAn, as well as visiting with his nearby extended family members.
Albert is survived by his sister JoAn, two sons; John and Phillip; three grand children; Aliese, Angela, and Patrick; great granddaughter McKenna and daughters-in-law Vicky DeKoning and Stacy Schauer-DeKoning, as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews in the United States and Holland. Online condolences may be made at www.whittedfuneralchapel.com.
Farewell, Albert; Father, Husband, Brother, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, and most of all, Friend.
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