William George Altenhofen

William “Bill” George Altenhofen, 92 year old resident of Little Falls formerly of St. Paul Park, MN, died Monday, September 29 at Highland Senior Living in Little Falls. A funeral service will be held on Friday, October 10 at 12:00 P.M. at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service in Little Falls. Visitation will be held on Friday, October 10 from 10:30 A.M. until the hour of the service at Emblom Brenny Funeral Service in Little Falls. The burial will be at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery north of Little Falls at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, October 10.

William George Altenhofen was born on November 19, 1932 in Pierz, Minnesota to the late William Mark and Florence Esther (Pruesse) Altenhofen. He grew up in the Pierz area and graduated from Little Falls High School with the class of 1950. William joined the United States Army in 1952 beginning a career of 24 years of service to his country including serving in Korea and Vietnam as well as being stationed in Japan, Panama, Germany and Alaska (as well as other places through the years). William was honored for his many accomplishments and received several decoration medals during his time in the military including the Silver Star, Air Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge and the Purple Heart. William was proud of his time in the Army and loved to tell many stories of his adventures to anyone who was willing to listen, even writing and publishing a book titled “The Infantry Adventures of William G Altenhofen.” While stationed in Korea, William met and married Hyun Cha Kang in 1970. They later made their home in St. Paul Park MN and were married for 54 years until her death in July 2024. William lovingly cared for Hyun Cha in their home until her death and often brightened her day with a bouquet of flowers. Following his retirement from the military William went on to work for the United States Post Office for 20 years, retiring in 1998. William enjoyed visiting with people and was always ready with a smile, compliment, story, opinion or advice. He went for daily walks for at least a mile into his 90’s and was diligent about staying fit. He made hundreds of loaves of banana bread which he shared with all of his friends and family. He also enjoyed fishing as well as exploring military and war history. William loved writing letters and receiving letters from family and friends. He was a generous person to family and friends and also donated to many causes throughout the years.

Left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Chong (Yang) Son; grandchildren, Andrew and April; siblings, Jerome Altenhofen, Betty Fyten; sister-in-law, Jeanette Altenhofen, special friends Dan and Andrea Grochowski and Linda and Dave Kriesel and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his spouse, Hyun Cha Altenhofen; parents; siblings, Arthur Altenhofen, Leander Altenhofen, Verner (Leona) Altenhofen, Charles Altenhofen and Lucille Lemke.

Emblom Brenny Funeral Service is Cherishing the Memory and Celebrating the Life of William.