Allison Boyd Eicher

Al Eicher lived 91 years like he meant it, and he made sure everyone around him had a good story to tell afterward.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, to Boyd Eicher and Eleanora Sting Eicher, Al grew up alongside his sister Ardra and his late brother Gary, in the kind of small-town upbringing that later made him such a natural at connecting with people, whether they were library patrons in a lecture hall or Hollywood legends on a soundstage.

After Pigeon High School, Al headed to Detroit for classes at RETS Electronic School, then joined the U.S. Army in 1955, where he trained in radio engineering and helped set up communication centers for military bases. Not content with just one skill, he also went through Army Aquatic School and left as a certified lifeguard. Unbeknownst to him at the time, that certification would soon change the trajectory of his life. After his service, he earned his FCC license and set his sights on broadcast television.

It was a lifeguard gig, back home in Pigeon one summer, that led him to cross paths with Kathryn Braun, a beautiful dental hygiene student at the University of Michigan, who was giving fluoride treatments in Huron County the same summer. Al must have made quite an impression from the lifeguard chair, because the two started dating and married on July 19, 1958. A marriage that would last 68 years.

Al's career reads like a highlight reel of American broadcast television. He got his start at WNEM-TV, learning to operate a camera, and went on to hold executive roles at Campbell-Ewald Advertising Agency, 20th Century Fox, Magnetic Video Corporation, and Embassy Home Entertainment, helping pioneer the pre-recorded home video industry when it was still brand new. Along the way, he crossed paths with the likes of Norman Lear, Patty Duke, and Phyllis Diller, collecting a lifetime of behind-the-scenes stories most people only dream of.

In 1985, Al founded Program Source International. In 1995 his son joined him, and together they produced documentaries and programs that often shone a light on historical events. Over the past two decades, the father-son duo took their storytelling on the road, building a lecture series for libraries, colleges, senior living communities, and historical societies across Michigan, proving that Al never stopped teaching or entertaining.

At home, Al was just as dedicated. A loyal member of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, he helped found the Beautiful Savior Investment Club, served as President of the church Brotherhood, and took his turn as property chairman. Because a full career in television wasn't enough writing for one lifetime, he also spent more than 20 years as a contributing writer for The Lakeshore Guardian Newspaper.

Al will be remembered for his contributions to the entertainment industry, his passion for Michigan history, and his devotion to his church and community. But most of all, he'll be remembered by his family — for every summer spent together at the family cottage on Sand Point in Caseville, Michigan, which was, without question, his favorite set of all.

Al is survived by his wife of 68 years, Kathryn; his son, David (Sheila), and daughter, Laurie Sweet (Paul); his five grandchildren, Jason Sweet, Kristen Millington (Ryan), Megan Sweet, Mary Eicher (Bryan Bromley), and Emily Wells (Antheny); his sister, Ardra Schaaf (Glen); and many loving cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A service celebrating Al's life will be held at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., on September 26. Viewing at 9:30 am with the service at 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Bloomfield Historical Society or Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church.