A celebration of life memorial service for Arthur Godtland Jr. formerly of Albert Lea, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at Grace Lutheran Church, 918 Garfield Ave., Albert Lea. The Rev. John M. Henriksen will officiate.

Art passed away at his lake home surrounded by his family at 4:37 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2003, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Visitation with Art’s family will take place at the Bayview/Freeborn Funeral Home, 1415 Highway 13 North, Albert Lea, on Friday, Oct. 24, from 6-8 p.m. Interment with military honors will be held at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery located at 15550 Highway 115 in Little Falls on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 12:30 p.m.

Arthur Godtland, Jr. was born March 10, 1926, to a proud Norwegian family, the son of Arthur and Grace (Clemmetson) Godtland. He grew up in Albert Lea, and graduated from high school there in 1944. He served his country in the Army as a combat medic during World War II and received the European African Middle Eastern Theater ribbon with two bronze battle stars, Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Army of Occupation Medal-Germany.

He was united in marriage on Aug. 16, 1954, to Olive Ann Rasmusson. He worked 21 years for the United States Postal Service, retiring from the Albert Lea Post Office in 1986 as Assistant Postmaster. He then relocated to Northern Minnesota and, in a way, returned to the type of work he was doing before he became part of the postal system &045; construction type work &045; fulfilling one of his life-long dreams of building a lake home for himself and his wife on Lake Benedict near Walker, Minn.

Art was a very talented craftsman, also building the rural Albert Lea house he his wife and their four children called home. He was a charter member of Grace Lutheran Church in Albert Lea and then became a member of Hope Lutheran Church of Walker. He was a member of the Albert Lea American Legion Post and the VFW and a member of the Walker American Legion Post and the Akeley VFW.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Olive Ann of Benedict, Minn.; four children: Kathryn Jensen of Grand Rapids, Minn., Mark (Paula) Jensen of Santa Fe, N.M., Debra Godtland-Bernin (Don Bernin) of White Bear Lake, Minn., and Peter (Delcie) Jensen of Buffalo Lake, Minn.; seven grandchildren: Benjamin Jensen (Oksana Kaluh) of Washington, D.C., Susan LeDoux of Orlando, Fla., Nathan, Jared and Joshua Bernin of White Bear Lake,

and Luke and Pearce Jensen of Buffalo Lake; one great-grandson, Max Jensen, born on Aug. 7, of Washington, D.C.; sisters: Georgia Johnson and Lois Undahl; brothers: LuVerne (Jean), Ronald (Karen), Richard (Sandra); sisters-in-law: Eleanor, Dorothy and Jeanette Godtland, all of Albert Lea, and Mary Drake of Prescott, Ariz.; Godchildren: David Anderson of Lake Mills, Iowa, John Nielsen of Newark, Ohio, Rodger Baseman Jr. of Glenville, and Lori Godtland and Amy White of Albert Lea; and several other nieces and nephews.

Art was preceded in death by his parents: Arthur and Grace Godtland; father-in-law, Otto Rasmusson; mother-in-law, Alice (Butler) Rasmusson; sisters: Ruth Whiteis and infant Arlene Godtland; brothers: Glenn, Don, Ellsworth and Raymond; brothers-in-law: Dale Whiteis, DuVerne Undahl, Arnold Johnson, Robert Jensen, Willie Anderson and Douglas Drake; and sisters-in-law: Violet Jensen and Marie Anderson.

Art will be sadly missed by family and friends. God bless his memory.