Allan Ekvall, age 93, of Oshkosh, passed away Saturday morning, July 16, 2011 at Evergreen Retirement Community in Oshkosh following a lingering illness. He was born November 17, 1917 in Chicago to Laurence and Marjorie (Reeves) Ekvall and resided in Wisconsin since 1921.
On August 30, 1941, he married his college sweetheart, Betty Harris, while at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where he received his Bachelors Degree with a major in journalism. Allan served in World War II as a cryptographer with the Army Air Corps and had an active career in journalism, spanning 40 years.
Allan worked for the Appleton Post Crescent following graduation, later serving as its Oshkosh Bureau Chief. In 1966, he started up "The Paper", a daily morning newspaper serving Oshkosh and Central Wisconsin as a Miles Kimball Company project, serving as its first editor. During the paper's brief existence through 1970, it won more than 40 state and national journalism awards for editorial excellence. A highlight of his journalism career was breaking a story nationally that the My Lai massacre in Vietnam was not an isolated incident, interviewing a soldier who personally witnessed other massacres. Allan later went on to serve as Director of the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh News Bureau until he retired.
He was active in church and community affairs throughout his life. While living in the Neenah/Menasha area for 18 years, he was active in PTA, served as Moderator at Whiting Memorial Baptist Church, Neenah, and was a member of the Winnebago County Board.
While living in Oshkosh, he was a member of the Noon Kiwanis Group, serving as its President in the 70's, the local American Cancer Society Chapter, Algoma Boulevard Methodist Church, the City of Oshkosh's 125th Year Birthday Committee and the Red Carpet Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, where he was involved in putting together the presentation to successfully bring the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) to Oshkosh. He also helped with publicity for other community events including United way campaigns and the fund campaign for the William Steiger Memorial wing as part of the Oshkosh Public Museum. He believed in service to his community and enjoyed anonymity in the process.
Allan is survived by his brother, Bill (Mil) Ekvall, of Sun City, Arizona; sons, Thomas (Barb Minett) Ekvall, of Oshkosh, Robert (Xue-Song) Ekvall of San Diego, California; daughter, Nancy (Larry) Fagan of Morrison, Colorado; four grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents; wife who passed away in 1981 and his sister, Dorothy Casada.
A celebration of life service will take place at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 2, 2011 (Labor Day Weekend) at Algoma Boulevard Methodist Church in Oshkosh with Reverend Barry Yarbro officiating. Visitation will take place on Friday, September 2 from 1:00 p.m. until the time of service. Inurnment will be in Lake View Memorial Park. Memorial contributions in Allan's memory may be made to Algoma Boulevard Methodist Church, American Cancer Society or to ADVOCAP. Please visit www.seefeldfuneral.com to send online condolences to the family.
The family extends its appreciation to Evergreen Retirement Community and its staff and to Heartland Hospice and its staff for the excellent care Allan received.
Seefeld Funeral and
Cremation Services
(920) 236-7750