Alan Kelvin Viets

Alan K. (“Al”) Viets was born on February 15, 1954 to George and Marjorie (Brooks) in Falls City, Nebraska. He grew up on a farm near Craig, MO, with his older brother, Dan, and his younger sister, Sheila. He graduated from Craig R-III High School in 1972 and was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter's Lutheran Church. In 1976, Al graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry.

His education and subsequent career in formulation chemistry led Al to a position at Scotts in Marysville, Ohio, where he met Amy Mathews. Having only known one another for less than a year, Al and Amy were married on June 28, 1980 in Kinsman, Ohio, and they embarked on a romantic honeymoon in Hawaii. Amy was the apple of his eye; she was his password, screensaver, and was always on his mind, as he called her from work every day.

Al and Amy had two children – Mary Evelyn Viets and Aaron Daniel Viets. Al was an incredibly caring, kind, and supportive father, who always encouraged silliness and hilarious nicknames and songs (his were the funniest). He made sure that Mary knew how to change the oil in her car and help work on tractors, while Aaron was taught by example to be gentle and patient. His children knew to look to him for comfort when they were upset or sick and never doubted that he would always be there when they needed him.

Al worked as a research and formulations chemist for over 40 years for numerous agricultural chemical companies around the country. He held numerous patents, authored/co-authored several scholarly papers, and spoke on agricultural chemical applications at multiple ASTM symposiums. He served as an editor for numerous editions of Pesticide Formulations and Applications Systems for the ASTM, and he and Amy often traveled overseas for conferences.

Working for Bayer also afforded Al and his family the opportunity to live in Leverkusen, Germany for several years. The family made many important, lifelong friendships during their time in Germany, one of which led to Tobias Ehlich living with the Viets in the US for a year; he has remained a part of the family ever since. During this period, they were also able to travel throughout Europe and even visit Egypt and Zimbabwe. Al was always behind the camera, ensuring that every moment was captured to his satisfaction. His passion for travel and genealogy led him to locate members of the Viets family in Germany, with whom the whole family developed a lasting relationship.

Al was always an active member of a Lutheran congregation, often serving on the church board. He always loved singing in the church choir with Amy, who was usually the director, and his antics during practice provided endless entertainment for everyone involved. He took on many other responsibilities, including teaching Sunday school to confirmation-age students and helping to serve communion as a church elder.

Handball was a lifelong passion for Al. He met some of his closest friends playing this sport and participated in many United States Handball Association tournaments around the country, as well as some international tournaments.

In 2019, Al became a grandpa, when his son Aaron and daugher-in-law Mary had their first child, David Alan Viets. No one loved babies more than Al, and he loved seeing what great parents his son and daughter-in-law were and made sure they knew how proud he was.

Al died June 27, 2020 at the age of 66; he was preceded in death by his mother and father, Marjorie and George Viets of rural Corning, MO. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Amy Viets, his daughter, Mary Evelyn Viets (Michael Robertson) of Cincinnati, OH, and his son, Aaron Daniel Viets (Mary (Berg) Viets), his grandson, David Alan Viets of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, his brother Daniel L. Viets (Sheila Dundon), Columbia, MO, and his sister, Sheila (Viets) Rennison (George Bryan Rennison) of Rolla, MO, and his brother-in-law, Harold Mathews (Ann Mathews) of Perrysburg, OH.

A family-only graveside service will be held on July 10th at 1:00 p.m. at the Craig, MO IOOF Cemetery, and a Memorial Service will be held at a later date.

The family requests that memorials in Al’s memory be made to LCMS World Relief, the Alzheimer’s Association, the US Handball Association, or to the charity of your choice.