Alvin Richard Aho

Alvin Richard Aho, 79, of Moose Lake, Minn., died Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, in Augustana Care Center in Moose Lake. Alvin was born on Oct. 3, 1932, in Cromwell, Minn., the only child of Albert and Mary (Sippola) Aho. He graduated from Cromwell High School in 1951. After graduation he attended Dunwoody in Minneapolis, Minn., and then in 1953 he joined the United States Army. He spent 23 months at Fort Riley in Kansas. After completing his service in the army, Alvin worked in Cloquet, Minn., for Hallbak. Then he entered Duluth Business University under the VA program. Alvin married Kathy Pettit on Aug. 23, 1958. Alvin and Kathy both started working for H&R Block Income Tax in Duluth. In 1965 they moved south with Alvin as a district manager for H&R Block. They spent one and a half years in Anniston and Gadsden, Ala., then on to Jacksonville, Fla., where he was district manager for 30 years. Alvin taught an income tax course at Jacksonville Junior College for two years and later at Tallahassee Community College. Alvin purchased four H&R Block franchises, one in Chattahoochee, Fla., and three in Georgia - Thomasville, Bainbridge and Donalsonville, which he ran for 10 years. Due to health problems, Alvin sold all the franchises, but they continued to live in Georgia and spend summers in Minnesota until his health grounded them in cold Minnesota for the last three years.