Alfred C. McAfee

Alfred Claudius McAfee, III (aka, Al, Mac and Freddie) age 98, passed away peacefully on November 2, 2024.

Preceded in death by his father, Alfred C. McAfee, Sr.; mother, Isabelle McAfee Nelson; wife, Alice McAfee; son, Mark McAfee; sister, Mary Aline Oihus; brother-in-law, William Oihus; niece, Karen Linse (her husband Michael Linse); and nephew, Richard Oihus.

Survived by daughter, Sue Elle (Mike); daughter-in-law, Betsy McAfee; three grandsons, David Dufner (Kathleen), Nick Elle (Kelli Carlson) and Ben Elle (Carly Krings); two great-grandsons, Ethan Dufner and Alex Dufner; great niece, Jennifer Linse; great nephew, Jason Linse as well as close family friends, Doug and Sandy Rude.

Al was born in Oak Park, Illinois December 10, 1925. In his early childhood he spent several years living in Cisco, Texas before moving to Alden, MN and then later to Austin, MN.

Just before Al turned 18, he left high school and enlisted in the US Navy. He served in World War II on LST 997 and was a yeoman and pointer gunman. He also served on the U.S.S. Antietam Carrier and worked in the postal finance area. During his time in the Navy, he served in the Mediterranean and Pacific Theaters of the war. He spent considerable time in the Philippines and Guam during his time in service.

Al was a graduate of Austin, MN High School, Austin Junior College and St. Cloud State University. He later received his master’s degree from the University of Minnesota. Al met his wife Alice in a class at Austin High School after he returned from the war. They were happily married from 1948 until Alice passed away in 2012.

With his love of learning, Al took numerous credits beyond his master’s at the University of Minnesota. Al taught Business Education and was the Yearbook Advisor at Warroad, MN High School (one year), LeRoy, MN High School (five years) and at Alexander Ramsey High School (now Roseville Area High School for 26 years). Al really enjoyed working with the students he taught over the years.

In the 1950’s Al was a professional drummer and dance band leader. His wife Alice played piano in his band the Mello Macs. He was a drum student of Marv Dahlgren who played with the MN Orchestra, clarinet student of Rueben Haugen, saxophone student of Pete Whitman and a clarinet student of Debra Chenowith (taking clarinet lessons from Debra in his 80’s). He truly enjoyed helping teach his three grandsons how to play the saxophone. Music sparked a lot of joy in Al’s life. In addition to his love of music, Al loved photography and worked for several years doing professional photography work. Writing was another joy of Al’s. He journaled a lot in his younger years and wrote poetry in his later years. Al was also a locksmith for many years and owned and operated A & M Lock service. Then after retiring from teaching, Al contracted with 3M as a locksmith for many years. He was the past President of the MN Locksmith Guild, a long-time member of the Associated Locksmiths of America and was a Certified Master Locksmith. He was trained to be a locksmith by his father-in-law Roy Samingson of Austin, MN. He also learned some locksmithing skills from his wife’s uncle James Hermanson of St. Cloud, MN.

Al moved to Johanna Shores of Arden Hills in the Assisted Living area in December 2016 and transferred to the Care Center at Johanna Shores in February of 2023. A special thank you to all the wonderful staff that cared for Al. He often had very positive things to say about the employees and was very appreciative of the care they gave to him. He met many wonderful friends during his time at Johanna Shores as well.

Funeral service 11:00 AM Friday, November 8 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Visitation at the church from 10-11 AM Friday. Interment Roselawn Cemetery.