Alvin D. Schlapia

Alvin D. Schlapia, 84, of Creston, passed away Thursday, Sept. 12 at his home. Memorial services will be 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, at Pearson Family Funeral Service & Cremation Center with Rev. Jim Morris officiating. Alvin will be laid to rest in the Prairie Lawn Cemetery in a private ceremony. Family will receive friends 2:30-3:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, at the funeral home.

Memories and condolences for the family may be shared online at www.pearsonfuneralhomes.com. In lieu of flowers, Alvin’s wish was for memorials to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Undesignated memorials will go to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Alvin was born on May 4, 1940, on a farm northwest of Diagonal to Hugh Albert and Vivian Dorothy (Pratt) Schlapia. He attended grades K-12 in Diagonal, where he enjoyed playing basketball and graduated as valedictorian in 1958. He received his Associate of Arts degree in 1960 from Creston Junior College, where he also played basketball. In 1963, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, in business administration with an accounting specialization from the University of Nebraska - Omaha.

In the spring of 1963, Alvin passed the CPA examination and enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. He rose to the rank of Mess/Staff Sergeant (E6) during the balance of his six-year service and was honorably discharged in 1969.

In May 1963, Alvin met the love of his life, Mary Ann Carson in Creston. The couple was married on August 2, 1964, at the First Christian Church in Creston and resided in Omaha until moving to Creston in 1971 so Alvin could join his family’s business in Diagonal. This union was blessed with three children; Debra, Doug and Darin.

For 31 years, Alvin served as president of Schlapia, Inc., a feed milling, farm supply and petroleum products business. In 1990, Alvin recognized the need for a convenience store in Diagonal. The result was Jerry’s Texaco Food Mart, which opened on August 13, 1991. Alvin served on the Board of Directors of the Petroleum Marketers of Iowa for six years and served as its treasurer for five of those years. In 2002, Alvin retired to grandfathering, wintering with Mary Ann in Arizona, enjoying coffee fellowship and golfing.

Alvin was a member of the United Methodist and Disciples of Christ Christian Churches in Diagonal, Omaha and Creston. He served on the boards and committees of the Methodist church and the Christian Church. Alvin served as treasurer of the Diagonal Lions Club for over 20 years and also as treasurer of the Diagonal Community Development Corporation from 1979 to 2002.

Alvin was a loving, kind, proud and dependable husband, father, grandfather and friend. He proudly followed the church music career of his daughter and the basketball careers of his two sons. Later, he and Mary Ann kept busy attending their grandchildren’s activities and were very proud of their many accomplishments.

Alvin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Ann; daughter Debra; son Doug (Sandy); son Darin (Ann); grandchildren Nathan, Ashlyn, Nicholas, Justin, Grace, Adrian and Andrew; brother Ron (Toni); sisters-in-law Rosemary Hullinger, Cindy Schlapia and Kaye (Kilgore) Carson; many nephews and nieces, cousins and a host of other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Hugh and Vivian, brothers Jerry and Robert, three sisters-in-law and one brother-in-law.