Anton Althoff's Ethic Included Reverence For Order

Anton A. Althoff packed right when he emigrated from his native Germany to North America and eventually Seattle, his family says.

He brought a popular sausage recipe to use at his Olympic Sausage Co., a knack for stories and a work ethic that included a reverence for order.

He taught people the blessing of jobs well done, the lessons of history and the value of stories.

"In 1950, he took us all to Europe on the Ile-de-France to show us Europe and teach us history," said his daughter Anita Nordstrom of Redmond. "We took our big black Oldsmobile with us on the ship, and drove it all over, although it could barely fit through some streets!"

Mr. Althoff died Jan. 13 of heart failure. He was 92.

Born in Schoppingen, Germany, he studied for the priesthood to please his family, then emigrated to Seattle via Saskatchewan, Canada. He worked as a landscaper and meatpacker, and fished and hunted.

He met his future wife at a German picnic in Seattle. He cultivated many German friends via the Plattdeutsch Verein group.

In the 1930s, Mr. Althoff co-founded Olympic Sausage. He sold out to Kingen Meats of Chicago in 1950, started Twin City Pack in Kennewick, then began buying and selling real estate in Seattle.

"When my father had the sausage companies, he'd get up at 5 a.m., work all day, get home at 7 p.m., then go dancing," said his daughter Annette Althoff of Seattle.

"When he was in his early 80s, I caught him and my mother dancing in the living room . . . they were watching a musical show on television, and he said they couldn't let good music go to waste."

Mr. Althoff was the consummate host and neighbor.

"The yard always looked good, he was well-groomed and always wore a hat, and the vehicles were shiny," Nordstrom said. "He got up early every Saturday to wash the car."

"We would do the whitewalls," added Annette Althoff. "He also was the last of the Crown Hill Volunteer Firemen, when the neighborhood was outside the city limits.

"I remember his boots with his pants tucked into them, sitting at the foot of the stairs in case he should have to go to a fire in the middle of the night."

Other survivors include his son, Frank Althoff of Renton; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His wife of 65 years, Millie Althoff, died last year.

Services have been held.