Alan (Al) Fahrner

Al Fahrner liked to keep his life simple, with his family at the center and his hunting and fishing just a little off to the side. In fact, he was the happiest when he could combine his two loves, when he could spend a day with his family, just hunting and fishing together.

The year 1947 marked a time of great change for America, as it did throughout the world. With the end of the Second World War thousands of young soldiers returned home to start their families. The baby boom was quickly underway, and Robert Fahrner and his wife Edna were among the many expecting parents. They did not expect the birth of their own child, however. They planned to adopt, and this is exactly what they did on September 2, 1947, the day that Alan Robert Fahrner was born.

Alan was taken from the hospital to the family house on the West Side of Grand Rapids, on Lincoln Street. Their neighborhood was common of the day. If you did anything wrong, someone was watching and that someone was likely to tell your mother. As a child Al never liked to get dressed up, and he would avoid this responsibility by sneaking out the back door of the house. Eventually his father would find him, usually at the corner soda stand. He grew up with the company of his older sister Kathie, who was also adopted, and his grandmothers. One of his grandmas lived downstairs for a while, while the other lived just across the street. Al was very close to both grandmothers, as they each played a part in raising him.

For his education Al attended Stocking Elementary, Millpond Elementary, and Marne High School. Like many of his peers, Al's favorite time of the year was when school was out of session. The entire family spent the summer at their cottage on Pickerel Lake near Newaygo. They arrived once school let out, and they returned to Grand Rapids around Labor Day. Like his sister, Al loved to be in the water. Just before mealtime, his mother would literally have to drag him out of the lake. After lunch she would have Al and Kathie rest in their beds for one hour. This wasn't to let the food digest--it was simply to keep Al and Kathie out of the water for a little bit of time. Beyond swimming, there was always something to do at the cottage. Al's cousins lived next door, and they often passed the afternoon playing together. With instruction from his father, Al learned how to fish and hunt, and he always found time for these activities during the summer.

After high school Al found a job working with masonry. A short while later, in 1966, he enlisted with the US Army to serve in Vietnam. Two years later, in October of 1968, he returned home. He never said much about the war or his personal experiences, but he did express disappointment at the poor treatment of returning soldiers. Although Al never talked about the effect the war had on him, his family always felt that the Vietnam war was a part of him in some way.

Upon returning home from the war, Al went out on a blind date that one of his friends had arranged. It was on this date that he was introduced to Nancy Miller, a hairstylist. This was a time when money was tight, and their first date mostly involved riding in his red Dodge Dart through the downtown circuit of Grand Rapids, from the Pantlin Hotel to Veterans Park. Nancy found him to be cute and a little bit wild. They quickly fell in love, and on April 18, 1970 they were married. For their honeymoon, Al and Nancy travelled north to the UP. It was very snowy, which made it difficult to get around, and it was also uncrowded since it was an unpopular time of the year for hunting. All the same, it was a fun time.

As Al adjusted to married life, he continued to keep in close touch with his own family. He grew very fond of his in-laws, who were also hunters with a large plot of land. He continued to earn a living through masonry, but he would soon shift his focus to sheet metal. His last sixteen years would be spent working for Forest Hills Grounds and Maintenance, which became a family in itself. He liked all the people he worked with, and several of them shared his passion for hunting.

Life changed again for Al on December 11, 1972 with the birth of his daughter Amy. Al was happy to be a father. He still went hunting and he still went to car races. When Amy grew older, he would take her along to hunt or to see the races. He loved the sprint car races in Eldora, Ohio and the Ionia Speedway. He was very proud of his daughter, and he was determined to pass down his favorite pastimes to her. In other words, he made sure that she was a bit of a tomboy. Al taught her how to shoot, they watched the Red Wings together, they rode dirt bikes. He and Amy even went parasailing in Grand Haven together. Of course, as Amy grew older she was no longer as animate about hunting, though she would still help with the tree stands. All the same, Al was always a guiding influence in her life, not with dolls, but with trucks and cars.

Al was a true family man, and whenever difficulties arose, he was always available to lend a helping hand. When his brother-in-law passed away, he and Nancy stepped in to help Kathie take care of her daughter Kirsten. Al had a very difficult time when his father passed away, but he kept strong so that he could look after his mother. He would do all her repairs and take care of her lawn. Al's dedication to his family may have been a genetic trait, since his biological sisters spent lots of time and energy tracking him down. They finally found Al two years ago. He had always wondered what his past was like. Though it was difficult to hear about the life that he might have had, Al never forgot how blessed he was. No one could have loved him more than his parents.

Family was the most important part of Al's life; the outdoors was a close second. His wife and daughter sometimes joked that Al was born a hundred years behind his time, because he would have gotten along just fine without indoor plumbing or running water. He always had dogs and he loved them all, as he loved most animals. He had a partridge, and he even took care of a baby raccoon because he thought it was cute--it wasn't so cute once it grew up though. He loved to go hunting, and he mainly concentrated on caribou, antelope, mule deer, and texas white tail. Whenever he went on a trip, he always returned with a trophy mount and a good story to tell. One might say that he was accident prone--or he at least tended to do the dangerous things that lead to accidents. He sometimes fell from tree stands, he broke his elbow, he burned his hands and face when he tried to put out a brush fire. His hunting stories were as memorable as his trophies.

But six years ago, Al was involved in a much more serious accident while snowmobiling. For several weeks he was in a coma, and even after his recovery he would experience problems linked to the accident. For the first time in his life, he was limited in the things that he was able to do. This could be depressing at times, but all the same Al continued to love the outdoors, even though he couldn't do everything that he once had done.

For the most part, Al was not an outgoing person. His wife was very social, but Al preferred to be with his network of close friends. Usually he was quiet, allowing others to do most of the talking, but he would join the conversations as soon as hunting or cars came up. He was always proud of his own cars, the Dart that he first took Nancy out in, his white convertible Barracuda, a Dodge Duster, and most recently, a Z28 Camaro.

Al was a kind and considerate father, a loving husband, and a close friend of many. He will be greatly missed and frequently remembered by the many people whose lives he touched.

Al died unexpectedly on December 27, 2004. He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Edna Fahrner. Al is survived by his wife of 34 years, Nancy; his daughter, Amy; his sister and niece Kathie Fahrner-Jones and Kirsten and his sisters Dorothy (Darrell) Schildroth, Sue (John) Welsh, and Sandi Davis; along with several brothers-in-laws, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Al’s life will be held on Thursday, December 30 at 12 noon at Trinity Congregational Church, 2725 Four Mile Road NW. Friends and relatives are invited to visit with his family at the church for one hour prior to the service and for a time following the service. Please visit Al's personal webpage at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can archive a memory or make a memorial contribution to the Humane Society of Kent County.