Al Ringquist

1947 - 2021

Al Ringquist

Portland, Ore., formerly of Pentwater

Feb. 10, 2021, Al Ringquist transitioned to a place without diabetes, a disease he lived with for 63 years, since he was diagnosed when he was 9 years old.

Al was born in Chicago, Ill., in 1947 to Roy Leonard Ringquist and Edna (Semple) Ringquist. After graduation from Maine East High School, he attended Blackburn College in Carlinville, Ill., and went on to get his master's in economics from Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J. In 1971, Al was the waterfront director at Camp Miniwanca where he met Alice Ann Landon, whom he married at camp the following summer.

In 1973, Al and Alice moved to Pentwater, Mich., and in 1974 they opened the Leprechaun Shop, which sold Al's custom furniture and cabinetry. Al loved small-town life. He served on the school board, the zoning committee and the Economic Development Commission; was active in Rotary; raced his sailboat on Saturdays; and was the founder of the long-running Intergalactic Sandcastle Contest. He later became a CPA and worked as an accountant with Merskin and Merskin and later as the managing CPA of the Hart office for Brickley DeLong. He ended his working career as the fFinance director for the Village of Pentwater. Together, Al and Alice enjoyed gardening, cooking and traveling, especially by train.

Recently, Al and Alice moved to Portland, Ore., to live closer to their daughter, Rebecca, and her children Leo and Harvey. In Portland, Al was a volunteer at OHSU on the transplant floor, served on the Portland Parks and Recreation Disability Advisory Committee, took classes at Portland State University, took part in Black Lives Matter protests and most of all relished being a grandpa.

In addition to his immediate family and grandchildren, Al is survived by his brother, Bruce Ringquist, of Hot Springs Village, Ark. Details of a memorial to follow.

In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to the JDRF foundation. www.jdrf.org/

Al was a three-time organ donor recipient. These gifts allowed him to live an unexpectedly long life and meet his grandchildren, an experience he was forever in awe of, and never once took for granted. Please consider signing your organ donor card.