April 28, 1930 – March 23, 2023

Alfred (Al) Lau, 91, Passed Peacefully on March 23, 2023

Al was born in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin on April 28, 1931. He was the son of Fred and Grace (Ubbelohde) Lau. He grew up in rural Wisconsin with a close knit family of 9 children. He graduated from Sheboygan Falls High School and attended the University of Wisconsin, receiving a degree in Dairy Sciences. He played in the University of Wisconsin Marching Band and was a devoted Badger football fan. He met his wife, Marion Hickenbotham, and married in 1953 and enjoyed 51 wonderful years of marriage until Marion’s death in 2004. Al entered the United States Coast Guard in 1953 serving in the North Atlantic and New Jersey during the Korean War. He began his career with Kraft Foods in Chicago, Illinois. He had a successful career in the dairy industry, working in Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, and California with Kraft, Borden, and Leprino. Upon retirement in 1993, Al and Marion moved to Silverthorne, CO to be close to their children and to enjoy hiking and skiing in the mountains. He enjoyed skiing in Colorado for over 50 years. Al became an avid hiker, leading many hikes with the Mountain Goats and summiting more than thirty-five 14,000 foot mountains in Colorado and summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa at the age of 72. Al provided volunteer services and mentorship during retirement sharing his extensive dairy industry knowledge and passion in Kazakstan, Bangladesh, and Honduras. He also volunteered at the Silverthorne visitor center, and was a significant leader of the Capital Campaign Fund to build the Summit County Seniors Center. Al was a member of Saint John, the Baptist episcopal church in Breckenridge, Colorado

Al met Evie O’Connor in Silverthorne, CO and married in 2006 enjoying 16 years together. They delighted in entertaining friends and family, hiking with their grandchildren, playing bridge and traveling. Al was a joyful, loving, and kind gentleman, providing encouragement, support and inclusiveness to everyone he met. His favorite sayings were “Life is good”, and “I’ve had a good life”.
Al was preceded in death by his first wife, Marion, and their son, Jeff. Al is survived by his wife, Evie, daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Amir Massihzadeh, son and daughter-in law, Bob and Kelley Lau, granddaughter, Abbey Lau, and grandson, Jake Lau. He is also survived by his step sons and their wives, Bill and Dianne Ledingham and their children, Lauren, Christine, and Will and Jerry and Janine Ledingham and their sons, Greg and Sean. Additionally, he is survived by his sister, Edna Heiden, along with many nieces and nephews. A private Celebration of life will be held at a future date. Donations in memory of Al may be made to the Alzheimer Association or Mental Health America.