Alan Charlson

Alan Benedict Charlson, 65, of Sioux City passed away on Friday, June 1, 2012, at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., following six months of complications relating to open-heart surgery. He was with family at the time of his passing. Memorial services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Cathedral of the Epiphany. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, with a rosary at 5:30 p.m., and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Al was born in Parsons, Kan., to Harold and Mary Charlson and was the oldest of five children. A stand-out athlete for Sioux City Heelan and Morningside College, Al spent his career in coaching and education. Al served as an assistant football coach for Sioux City Heelan and the University of South Dakota. Coach Charlson then moved into the Head Coach ranks at Omaha Cathedral and Sioux City West, dramatically turning two struggling programs into playoff contenders. He retired from Sioux City West in 2007. His many awards include the Sioux City Journal High School Football Coach of the Year and the Northwest Iowa High School Football Coach of the Year honor. More important than the "wins and losses" was the impact "Big Al" had on the hundreds of lives of those he coached. Alan is survived by his sisters, Mary Jane (Charlson) Burton of Sioux City, and Anita (Charlson) Cooper of Eagan, Minn.; brothers, Robert Charlson of Sioux City, and Don Charlson of Rochester, Minn.; and 15 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Mary Charlson; and his brother, Richard Charlson.