Alf Carlton Modahl

Alf was born on November 7, 1930 in Waukegan, Illinois, to Alta and Alf Modahl. He was educated in the LaCrosse, Wisconsin, school system and majored in mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He entered the Air Force in 1951 and served until 1955, spending much duty time at Prestwick Airport in Scotland. Following his discharge from service, he completed his education at the University of Wisconsin and moved to California where he worked until 1966 as a mechanical engineer in the design of fighters and commercial transports for the Douglas Aircraft Company. Alf’s interest in flying power aircraft expanded into gliders and he spent many years flying and teaching soaring in the Mohave Desert. His Air Force training also piqued an interest in meteorology and prompted him to move to Colorado in 1966 to study at Colorado State University where he received his Master’s Degree in Atmospheric Science. He joined the National Hail Research Project at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, where his field of expertise was in cloud physics and larger-scale meteorological interactions. Aeronautics continued to be a force in his life, and later he held a position with Lockheed Martin Corporation in Denver as an aeronautical engineer on the Titan Missile Program. Alf retired from Lockheed Martin in 1991. He has been a career-long member of the American Meteorological Society and Sigma Xi, along with the Soaring Society of America and the Air Force Association.

Alf married Ann Shirley Lundberg on 2 October 1975. His wife precedes him, as does his father who died in 1986 and his mother in 1994. He is survived by his sister, Toni Low of Onalaska, Wisconsin. He also leaves nephews Steven Low of Onalaska, Wisconsin; Paul Lundberg of Brandon, South Dakota; Michael Lundberg of Holmdel, New Jersey; Andrew Johnstone of Chicago, Illinois; nieces Susan Vorpahl of Greendale, Wisconsin; Kathleen Steen of Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Barbara Hawthorne of Chesapeake, Virginia; Stephanie May of Alexandria, Minnesota; Staci Peterson of Wheaton, Minnesota and Kathryn Johnstone of Tampa, Florida.

Services will be on December 11 2023 at 11:00am at first Lutheran Church, 803 Third Street, Longmont. Burial will be at Ryssby Church Cemetery, North 63rd Street, Boulder County. In place of flowers, friends may give memorials in Alf’s name to the First Lutheran Church, Longmont, or to any other charity. The Ahlberg Funeral Home in Longmont is assisting Alf's family in arrangements.