Allan "Al" Wahlman

An Army Veteran, strongman, mechanic extraordinaire, salesman, musician, and loving husband and father are just a few highlights that describe the jack-of-all-trades, Al Wahlman.

Al was born to Albert and Marie Wahlman on September 16, 1945. In infancy he experienced his first challenge in life when he contracted the dangerous brain virus encephalitis. Although he managed to survive the illness, he was paralyzed on his left side until he was 8 years old. Miraculously, feeling began to return to his left arm and leg and eventually all that remained of the illness’ effects was a slight limp.

Al was a man of many talents and accomplishments throughout his life:

• He was a loving father to his only son, Nels. Nels was his pride and joy throughout his life. When Nels was quite young and Al was separated from him through a divorce, Al drove 180 miles every weekend to see his son and nurture the important father/son relationship that he lacked as a child growing up. His pride never wavered of his son’s accomplishments from his childhood through his adult life.

• Al was an accomplished musician early in his life. He played the trombone throughout his high school years, marching in many a Rose Parade in Portland, OR. He later joined a professional musical group in San Francisco and went on many a road trip playing at various venues.

• Al was a proud Veteran of the U.S. Army from August 29, 1966 until his Honorable discharge September 29, 1971. While stationed at Fort Ord, CA he acquired a National Defense Service Medal as well as a Marksman Badge. Being a musician, he was also in the band as well as providing services as a mechanic in the car pool. While being an exemplary man of uniform, Al was not without creativity to break out of all that rule following. Most memorably he once took an entire bus on a joy ride with a fellow partner –in-crime late one night and was extremely proud that he never got caught.

• Al was a car parts salesman extraordinaire, specializing in axles and transmissions. His sales route covered most of Oregon and he acquired many steady clients in every service station or repair shop along the way. He thoroughly enjoyed this job since auto mechanics was a great passion of his and he would spend hours wearing down a customer by sharing all his knowledge of cars – both inside and out.

• Al was a strongman and a member of the American Strongman Society. With ease, and a little bit of grunting, he could bend metal rods, tear large phone books in half, and push nails into boards with his thumb. In 1995 he even put on a variety show at the Fox Theater in Portland, OR with magicians and his strongman feats as the major attraction. He was very proud of this accomplishment and through the Strongman Society he was able to meet other strongmen across the nation with their own set of amazing feats of strength.

• Al loved the water and enjoyed boating on lakes or wandering through marinas admiring boats of every shape and size. He also enjoyed attending boat shows when they would come to the City of Portland. Though he never owned a large boat, he never missed an opportunity to either take out his aluminum boat or spend the day as a guest on a yacht.

• Al had many hobbies including reading, welding metals, woodworking and electrical work. He especially enjoyed acquiring old, rusty band-saws or other machinery, and work his magic to fix it up for use in his workshop. However, his greatest passion was in singing at karaoke venues. He would perform somewhere practically every night impressing the crowds with his melodic voice similar to Frank Sinatra’s. He once even rented a karaoke machine and provided some free entertainment at a local rehab center for the patients. He never missed a chance to grab the microphone and share this unique talent with anyone who would listen.

Al met his wife Victoria at a dance on September 14, 1990. After pursuing her for four years, he finally convinced her to marry him on October 15, 1994. Their 19 year marriage was full of laughter, adventure and sharing life’s little ups and downs on a daily basis. Al was a wonderful loving husband and never went a day without reminding Victoria of his love for her.

Al was a very caring, compassionate individual never hesitating to help those in need. He lived life to the fullest and acquired many friends along the way with his vivid storytelling and wide selection of humorous jokes. He was a man of integrity and believed in treating everyone fairly. Al will be missed greatly by his loving wife, Victoria, his son, Nels, his grandchildren and all who had the opportunity to know this amazing man.

And as Al would have so eloquently stated from a song by his favorite crooner, Frank Sinatra,

“I did it my way.”