Alfred J. "Al" Karls

Alfred “Al” John Karls of Waite Park, MN peacefully joined his wife and daughter in heaven on December 9th, 2020 at the St. Cloud Hospital after contracting the COVID-19 virus. 

Born at home in Kimball, MN on December 27th, 1930 to Albert and Susan (Nieters) Karls, Al was the eldest of eight children. He was always the first to finish any meal, claiming you had to be fast with that many siblings! 

Al worked on the family farm in Rockville and completed his formal education in the 8th grade. This didn’t serve as a barrier to Al, who received the top score on one of his army exams, which indicated he had the equivalent of two years of college! This brought Al great pride and surprised no one. He looked back fondly on his time in the service, where he so impressed his superior officers that they always chose him to drive them around.

After his time in the service, he returned to Minnesota where a young woman in a yellow dress caught his eye at a dance. Six months later, he and Bernadette “Bernie” Surma would be married. Ten months after that, the first of their four daughters was born.

Al owned and operated Karls Construction for 40 years, building over 400 homes in the St. Cloud area. His signature was an octagon window. If you have a split-level house built between the mid-50s and 90s in Stearns County, there is a good chance that it was built by Karls Construction.

Al and Bernie were active community members. They loved dancing, bowling, taking trips to the casino, attending mass, volunteering at the monthly church breakfasts, and traveling. One of their favorite trips was a passage through the Panama Canal. A farmer at heart, Al was an avid gardener, always planting a little more than his wife could can, so that he could donate the rest to the Poor Clares.

What Al enjoyed more than anything was being with his family. Nothing was more important to him than this, a value that was instilled deeply into each of his loved ones. He loved playing card games with his beloved daughter Missy, doing puzzles with his grandchildren, and watching “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” together. We loved celebrating his birthday each year with presents and cake, even though we had all just seen each other two days prior for Christmas. His 89^th birthday dinner was memorable, lasting over three hours. As we were leaving, Grandpa said it was one of the best birthdays ever.

Alfred is survived by his daughters Sandra (Charles) Harrison, Debra (James) Evens, and Melissa “Missy” Karls; his grandchildren Jessica (Andy) Dahlton, Mandei Evens, Randy Kennedy, Malarie (Ian) Holmes, David (Maggie) Harrison, Elizabeth (Alex) Mundt, Patrick Kennedy; great grandchildren Rosemary, Aristotle, Monroe, Fox, Ellae, Holland, Louisa, and Harbor; siblings JoAnn (Mel) Schroeder, Phronie (Chuck) Gulan, Doreen Corrigan, Margie Alvord, Lori (Brian) Alvord, and Jerome (Donna) Karls; brother-in-law Harold Molitor; and sister-in-law Virginia Surma.

Alfred is preceded in death by his parents Albert and Susan (Nieters) Karls, wife Bernadette (Surma) Karls, daughter Barbara Karls, great grandson Holland Dahlton, sister Evelyn Molitor, brother-in-law Clancy Corrigan, and many other loved ones.

A Mass of Christian Burial and celebration of life will be held when it is safe for us to all gather again.  Memorials can be made to St. Anthony’s church in his honor and the Poor Clares Monastery in Sauk Rapids, MN.