Allan Richard Skarp

Allan R. Skarp, 87, longtime Coleraine, Minn., resident, died Friday April 5, 2024, at Aicota Health Care Center in Aitkin.

Born July 7, 1936, in Comfrey, Minn., he was a son of Oscar Peter and Marlowe Anna Marie (Moeller) Skarp, and he grew up in several southwestern Minnesota towns.  Allan graduated from Mayville (N.D.) State Teacher’s College and received a Master of Library Science degree from Emporia (K.S.) State University.  His teaching and library career began in North Dakota, but he spent most of it in Greenway School District 316 at Connor-Jasper Junior High School, Bovey.  He served as a District 316 teachers union representative. As a member of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids, Allan served as an elder, Sunday school teacher, usher and as a member of the men’s club. He was an avid hunter and fisherman.

Allan married Lois Eleanor (Mettling) Skarp on Aug. 14, 1960, in Boyd, Minn. He is predeceased by his wife, Lois; his parents, Oscar and Marlowe Skarp; brothers, Thomas, David and Daniel Skarp.

Survivors include his daughter, Dr. Susan Skarp (Dirk VanDerwerker) and grandchildren Cuyler (Eden) VanDerwerker, Nicholas VanDerwerker, and Margriet (Christopher) Wilson. Also, his daughter Linda (the Rev. Neal) Groeling and grandchildren Christa (Noah) Bauer, Sarah (James) Cutler, and Benjamin Groeling. A brother, James (Delores) Skarp also survives him. Allan is survived by four great-grandchildren, Margo VanDerwerker; and Eleanor, Teller and Howell Bauer. Many nieces and nephews also survive him.

Married for 58 years, Allan first noticed Lois when she – a Fiesta Days princess -- waved from a parade float to the crowd attending downtown Montevideo, Minn.’s, “Fiesta Days” celebration. The two of them, fished, snowmobiled, and together they later traveled throughout the U.S. and through European countries, especially enjoying their visit to Sweden, where Allan visited his grandfather’s family home and the family’s Lutheran church. That Scandinavian heritage led to Allan’s love of his annual Christmas eve lutefisk and lefsa dinner.

A squirrel, a crow and several ferrets were his childhood pets. As an adult, Allan enjoyed fishing, and he hunted grouse and deer. He and friends organized fishing trips to Canada, and he took grandchildren to local lakes to fish. Fall trips to a Nashwauk hunting shack is where he taught grandsons to deer hunt.

Allan’s appreciation of history – especially of the American West -- led him to make repeat visits to where Custer met his demise, at what is now Little Bighorn National Monument. He watched TV westerns with gusto, but he also enjoyed the music of Johann Sabastian Bach and that of Johnny Cash. For a time, Allan pursued beekeeping and managed to do a little home-brewing on the side.

Visitation will begin at noon, with the funeral at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 29, 2024, at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids. Luncheon to follow. Interment by family will follow in Lakeview Cemetery, Coleraine. Memorials to Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, C/O First Lutheran Church, or to Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of MN (wrcmn.org).

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