ALBERT EDWARD LIERSCH Albert Edward Liersch, age 90 of Newberry, FL. passed away on Wednesday August 30, 2023. He was born on November 25, 1932, in San Antonio, Texas. A celebration of his life will be held on Friday, September 29, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Williams-Thomas Westarea Chapel 823 N.W. 143rd Street Newberry, FL. For his full obituary please visit his memorial page at www.williamsthomasfuneralhome.com FOR FUTHER INFORMATION WILLIAMS-THOMAS WESTAREA 352-376-7556

Published by Chico Enterprise-Record on Sep. 13, 2023.

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Albert Edward Liersch {"Al"} passed to his earthly rest in
the loving care of Jesus on August 30th 2023 at Haven
Hospice, Gainesville, FL after a life filled with love and
service. Al is survived by his wife, Loretta Liersch {nee;
Gordon}, and their children, Deborah Magee and her
husband Charles Magee of Alachua FL, Mark Liersch and
his wife Maria of Fredericksburg VA, and Barry Liersch
and his wife Pauline of Albuquerque NM, as well as his
niece Kimberly Kerr of Gainesville. He also has seven
grandchildren, Shannon, Brandon, Melissa, Mitchell,
Ethan, Alessandra and Edward, as well as eleven greatgrandchildren.
He is predeceased by his sister Janet Zech.
Albert was born in San Antonio,Texas to parents Albert
and Viola Liersch in 1932. After moving with his family to
Southern California during his early childhood, Al grew up
in the San Gabriel valley of Los Angeles. He enjoyed
wrestling and weight lifting during his teenage years, and
graduated from Lynwood Academy in 1950. Joining the
United States Navy, he served as a Hospital Corpsman at
Balboa Naval Hospital during the Korean War.
When the war ended, Al enrolled at Pasadena City
College where he graduated with honors. He then
transferred to University of California Los Angeles and
maintained a 4.0 in his studies of Mathematics and
Aerospace Engineering. It was during this time that he met
and married the love of his life, Loretta. The couple moved
into an apartment in Burbank and a few years later,
Loretta gave birth to their oldest child, a daughter they
named Deborah Ann. They purchased their first home, and
Al was hired by Lockheed and Aerojet, where he worked
on rocket development for the Mercury space program
and often proudly watched televised launches from Cape
Canaveral.
Despite his enjoyment of working within the space
program, Al often felt that God had other plans for him.
Thus, with the Lord's calling, Al entered training for the
Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) ministry; their daughter was
just beginning elementary school. Al obtained a Bachelor
of Arts in Theology at Loma Linda University, Riverside,
CA, and subsequently completed his formal theological
training with a Master's Degree from Andrews University,
Berrien Springs, Michigan. While living in Michigan, Albert
and Loretta's first son Mark was born.
The Liersch family then returned to Southern California,
where Al began his first ministerial position as Associate
Pastor of the Canoga Park Seventh-day Adventist Church.
It was while living here that Albert and Loretta's second
son, Barry was born. Shortly after, they moved to
Lancaster, CA where he was promoted to senior pastor of
the Mojave church. After gaining experience in leading a
small church, Albert was transferred to the larger
Hacienda Heights church, where he continued gaining
ministerial experience. He and Loretta tremendously
enjoyed these opportunities for service as well as the
friendships afforded them in all of these congregations.
With a variety of pastoral experiences under his belt,
Albert was presented with the option of joining the faculty
at Southern Adventist University, just outside of
Chattanooga, Tennessee. Once again, he and his family
trekked back east and made their home in Collegedale
Tennessee, where he taught religion to ministerial
students, as well as building and pastoring the nearby
churches of Hixson and Soddy Daisy. He enjoyed the
challenges of teaching college students who aspired to the
ministry, and later remarked on the value that the
university setting had given him.
After a number of years, Al left the academic environment
to return to full time ministry. Leaving Debbie at college in
Tennessee, Al and Loretta, Mark and Barry, made their
home several hours south in the lovely city of Savannah,
Georgia, pastoring the SDA church there. Al joined the
Lions Club of Savannah and often remarked on the
wonderful friends he made during his membership in that
organization. The family was relishing the warm hospitality
of their southern locales but after four years in Savannah,
they needed to make plans to return to California, due to ill
health of Al's father. Accepting the Healdsburg Seventhday Adventist
church as their next stop, Al and Loretta
treasured many years in the idyllic northern California wine
country, where they made numerous friends and
developed a passion for sailing on the San Francisco Bay.
Al restored a 27 foot Catalina sailboat to pristine condition,
naming it "Loral" after he and wife - and later a 21 ft
sailboat, the Loral II. His family and sons, as well as many
friends could often be found on the Bay, enjoying the
technically challenging but rewarding and beautiful sailing
conditions.
Al's last major church home was in Chico, California where
he served until retirement, not only functioning as the
senior minister to a large congregation, but also
spearheading the development and construction of a new
elementary school on the church's property, raising funds
for and overseeing the building of the school. He and
Loretta remained at this location for approximately 20
years, enjoying the multiple and diverse talents of this
congregation and developing many close friendships,
which he maintained and cherished throughout the
remainder of his lifetime.
Never one to remain idle, Albert continued to work during
the early years of his retirement as a part-time pastor for
the rural church in Yankee Hill California, until a stroke
limited his ability to continue actively serving as a minister.
He and his wife enjoyed their home in Chico but eventually
joined their daughter Debbie in a move to Gainesville
Florida in 2019, where they lived until his recent passing.
In addition to being a kind, hard-working, caring minister
and a principled man, Al was a devoted husband, and a
warm-hearted and attentive father who dearly loved his
family and enjoyed spending time with his children and
grandchildren. Besides being an avid sailor, Al loved many
water sports, learning to water ski with his daughter and
sons on many of the Northern California lakes. At one
point, he even invested in a fishing boat where his son
Barry learned the art of commercial fishing as a teenager.
Al also had experience with home building, and completed
several lovely additions to his Chico home. He loved
working in his yard, designing his landscapes and raising
vegetables and fruit trees.
Al had a positive, uplifting spirit as well as a tremendously
joyful sense of humor. He could make up fanciful tales on
the spot for his grandchildren, often involving such
characters as a grumpy rattlesnake named "Old Fang"
whose bite was repeatedly rendered harmless by See's
candy caramels! Al could lift the mood in any room he
walked into and always focused on the good in everyone,
doing his best to reflect the generous and encouraging
example set by Jesus.
There will be a celebration of Albert's life on Friday,
September 29 at 11:00 AM at Williams Thomas Funeral
Home, 823 NW 143rd St, Newberry, Florida and the family
welcomes anyone who wishes to join them in
remembering Al's life.