Joseph C. Alvestad

Joseph C. Alvestad – Viborg – Joseph Alvestad, 97 died Sunday, July 29, 2012 at the Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home, Viborg. Funeral Services will be at 1:00pm Wednesday August 1, 2012 at the Bethany Lutheran Church, Hurley with burial in the Church cemetery. Visitation will begin at 4:00pm Tuesday evening at the Hofmeister-Jones Funeral Chapel in Hurley. Joseph Alvestad was born on July 23, 1915 in Turner County near Hurley, South Dakota. His parents were Martin and Thea Alvestad. Joe was born and raised on the family farm near Hurley. Joe was confirmed at Bethany Lutheran Church on October 13, 1929. He graduated from Hurley High School in 1933 and began farming with his father Martin. In 1942, during World War II Joe answered the call to duty by joining the United States Army. He served with Company E of the 337th Infantry in Italy. On October 3, 1944, while serving as a radio operator near Roco, Italy Joe took enemy machine gun fire in his left arm. With no medics in the area, he had to walk over 10 miles to the nearest aid station. Then Joe walked another 4 miles to an Italian hospital. On March 26, 1946 after numerous operations and therapy, Joe was finally released from a US Army Hospital with his arm fixed permanently in a rigid position. His awards and decorations include: the Combat Infantry Badge, Purple Heart medal, Good Conduct Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Bronze Star Medal and the American Theatre Ribbon. Joseph returned to farming in Turner County and lived on the family farm until 1964 when he and his parents moved to Parker. He spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday School at Bethany Lutheran Church in Hurley. His philanthropy included: the establishment of the Joseph Alvestad Endowed Scholarship Fund at the Luther Seminary to provide support for financially deserving students, a Charitable Gift to Augustana College, a Lifetime Charter Member of the National WWII Memorial, Vets First Organization, Bethany Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutherans Outdoors, and the Crippled Children’s Hospital and School in Sioux Falls. He was preceded in death by his parents. He is mourned by a host of people who knew him as a kind and loving Christian.