John Oliver Althoff, age 78, a lifelong resident of Cannon Falls, died peacefully at home with his family by his side on Wednesday afternoon, September 11, 2024.
John was born on July 17, 1946 in Red Wing, Minnesota, the son of Oliver and Doris (Selvig) Althoff. He graduated from Cannon Falls High School in 1964 and went on to the University of Minnesota. He enlisted with the US Air Force and was honorably discharged in 1970. Upon his return, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972, with a major in history.
John married Phyllis Husaby on October 7, 1978 at First English Lutheran Church, Cannon Falls, where he continued to be active and serving on church council and helping to administer the FELC Foundation.
Working alongside his father and brother, John's career started in 1974, when he joined the family business, Althoff Hardware. He purchased the business in 1985 and continued ownership until his retirement in 2015. He sold the business to son, Mitch on July 1, 2015, making Mitch the 4th generation in Althoff Hardware.
John was a dedicated community member, serving on the Cannon Falls City Council in 2018 and as the Cannon Falls Mayor from 2019-2022. He was a member of the Cannon Falls Rotary Club, Downtown Merchants, Cannon Valley Fair for 44 years (half of those years as president), Board of Directors at Merchants Bank, Cannon Falls American Legion, and a U of MN alumni.
He is survived by his wife of nearly 46 years, Phyllis; children, Mitch (Angie) of Randolph, Mike (Stephanie) of Cannon Falls, and Andy (Erica) of Cannon Falls; six grandchildren, Jackson, Jordan, Madelyn, Jonathan, Willa and Ava; brother, Jim (Debbie) of Cannon Falls; sister, Mary Althoff of Port Townsend, WA; parents-in-law, Marland and Cindy Husaby of Cannon Falls; sisters-in-law, Karen (Royce) Anderson of Hastings and LuAnn (Rick) Hughes of Cannon Falls; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
He was preceded in death by Ollie and Doris Althoff; and brothers-in-law, Fred Thurston, Bruce Anderson, and Bill Langsdorf.
A celebration of life service will be held on Thursday, September 19 at 11:30 am, with visitation from 9:00 am - 11:30 am, at First English Lutheran Church, Cannon Falls. Please respect grandson, Jonathan's ongoing leukemia treatments and consider viewing the service remotely, if not feeling well. This service will be livestreamed and recorded and available to watch below.
Active urn bearers will be his sons.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Jonathan Althoff Go Fund Me account: https://gofund.me/ffe69783
