Waterloo, Wis. – Alvin (“Al”) E. Whitaker of Waterloo, Wisconsin, died peacefully on November 30, 2025.
Al lived a full life of 86 years not easily defined by his many titles: pilot, aircraft owner, airport owner, veteran, University of Wisconsin football player, lover of all forms of life, and humanitarian. He was adamant that his simple death notice should include none of the details revealing what a remarkable man he was – a request he was told was being rejected by the people who loved and respected him.
Al was one of eight children in a military family, taking him from Georgia to southern California where he became a high school football star.
While being recruited by Arizona, Washington and UCLA, Al encountered Badger great, Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch, who asked him why he wasn’t considering Crazylegs’ alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. Crazylegs immediately called the Badger coaches and handed the phone to Al. From that point on Al’s home became Wisconsin, other than his years of service in the U.S. Air Force.
Al joined the U.S. Air Force after receiving his undergraduate degree, rising to the level of captain. He served as a crew chief during the Vietnam war, stationed in Thailand and later England. His experiences both reflected and contributed to his skill as a teacher and leader. He was proud of his service to his country, even as he recalled that, as a black Air Force officer in Mississippi, he was barred from the beaches his white colleagues used and could enter some restaurants only to pick up takeout from the back door. When Al was interviewed about the Vietnam war and his service, whether it was for articles or television documentaries, he invariably deflected attention to the men and women with whom he served and said he was honored to have supported those heroes’ efforts; most notably the heroes who gave their lives in uniform.
When Al returned to the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, he was considering graduate school. He met two graduating students, one who obtained a master’s degree in the humanities and couldn’t find a job, and another student fresh with a law degree and job opportunities. Al wisely chose to pursue a law degree over a prolonged period of Ramen noodles, although in reality he spent his life and legal career more focused on helping others than cashing in himself.
While in law school, Al met the love of his life, Marian Lichtenwalner. Al spent the rest of his life with Marian, settling in the countryside outside of Waterloo, Wisconsin, where he built a private airstrip with a friend. Upon graduating from law school, Al joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in Madison, becoming a skilled trial attorney. He later also worked as a public defender and in private practice. Al continued to take on challenging or hard-luck legal cases up until the last year of his life, despite several declarations that he was “definitely retired this time.”
Al’s desire to teach led him to Madison College (formerly MATC), where he taught classes in police science. Virtually every police department in southern Wisconsin has officers and deputies taught by Al, and who would approach him years later to tell him how much they valued from his classes.
Although Al didn’t talk much about himself unless asked, he was a consummate storyteller. Listening to Al was like curling up with a favorite book that you couldn’t put down or wait to pick up again. Friends who met Al for lunch had to be prepared for the lunch conversation to run right into evening plans, and if you met Al for dinner, you might as well bring your pajamas. Of course, one reason that the hours passed was that Al’s stories were told at Al’s pace, which greatly contrasted with his speedy past as a Division I athlete.
Other than Marian, Al’s greatest love was flying! And he would not condone that it took over 600 words into this obituary to mention this. Al enjoyed taking people up in one of his prized planes and sharing his love of the skies – and sometimes his love of barrel rolls.
Although Al and Marian did not have children of their own, his friends’ children were dear to him, with some becoming pilots themselves. Al enjoyed seeing the next generations grow up. Weddings and other special occasions would trigger Al to draw one of his artistic cartoons that would be captioned and framed as a gift, revealing yet another talent that he brushed off as nothing notable.
When the founders of Midwest Flyer Magazine, Dave and Peggy Weiman, first met Al and Marian, Dave selected Al to be the subject of an article which was published in the January 1979 issue of Air Progress. The article was entitled “The Messerschmitt that was supposed to be made in the U.S.,” and described both Al and his rare Messerschmitt BO209 Monsun.
The Weimans remained lifelong friends, and when they were invited to designate someone to fly in an F-18 Hornet with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, Al eagerly accepted their invitation.
Al is survived by Marian, his sisters Patricia and Linda, sister-in-law Jaci, and brothers James and Jerry. He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Mary Rogers Whitaker, and by brothers David, Zach and Jay. Al’s final wishes included donating his body to science. A service of remembrance will be held at a later date at the airplane hangar near Al and Marian’s home.
Because Al supported so many causes, resulting in a daily clogged mailbox, the family asks that in lieu of flowers that those who knew him designate a donation to an appropriate charity in his honor – with or without an Al-length story of how you chose it. Thank you!