Alvin Joseph Fuks, age 87, of Yankton, SD died early Tuesday, September 02, 2008, at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital, Yankton, SD. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 AM, Saturday, September 6, 2008 at St. Benedict Catholic Church, Yankton, with Rev. Ken Bain officiating. A luncheon for all will immediately follow the service. Burial will be approximately 1:30 PM Saturday afternoon in the Nikodym Cemetery, rural Utica, SD with Military Graveside Rites by the Ernest-Bowyer VFW Post # 791. Visitations will be 2 to 9 PM, Friday, September 5, 2008 at the Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Crematory, Yankton, with a rosary at 7:00 PM followed by a scripture service at 7:30 PM. Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church.
A.J. was born on a farm in Yankton County on April 26, 1921 to Agnes (Hacecky) and Sanford Fuks. He attended school in a one-room school house, No. 46 Peterka School District, and graduated from Yankton High School in 1939. He married Rose Sykora on January 20, 1942.
Alvin was inducted into the Army Air Corps on September 24, 1942 during WWII. In addition to his duties in the Signal Corps of the 82nd Airborne, he was a boxer during his time in the service. He parachuted into Normandy from a C-47 aircraft as part of Operation Overlord onto Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion. Corporal Fuks was discharged on October 28, 1945. He returned to South Dakota where he was a baseball catcher. He and Rose raised their family and farmed 320 acres near Utica until he retired. Rose died in 1980.
He met Alma Zweber in 1985 and they shared their lives together in sickness and in health for the next 23 years. He loved to dance, fish, and follow the weather and farm reports. Alvin was proud to have worked at WalMart for the past 18 years as a sporting goods associate and people greeter. He loved life and courageously fought his way through several major illnesses with dignity and enduring faith.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Rose; and a brother, Dorance.
Alvin is survived by five children; Charlene Blain, Ronald Fuks, Joan Fuks (Henry McKee), Lauren (Jackie) Fuks, all of Yankton, and Lila (Roger) Olson of Volin; two sisters-in-law, Ella Fuks of Yankton, and Tracy (Leo) Taylor of Council Bluffs; along with numerous grandchildren.
Grateful for having shared his life are his beloved Alma Zweber of Yankton; his five step-children, Gerri (Jim) Smith of Sioux Falls, Gerard (Suzanne) Zweber of Mission Hill, Debby (Jack) Roth of Parker, Mary Zweber (Peter Murray) of Burbank, and Veronica Zweber of Yankton; along with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, including Mallory Zweber, Grayson Zweber, and T.C. Murray.
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