DALZELL - Alan Paul Portzen, 76, of Dalzell, passed away June 27, 2020 at his home with his wife by his side after a courageous 15-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

A private funeral service will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 2 at Zion Lutheran Church of Clarion with Rev. Paul Darveau officiating. Visitation will be from 9-11 a.m. on July 2 at the church. Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota is handling arrangements.

Al was born Feb. 12, 1944 in Mendota to Arnold and Kathryn (Truckenbrod) Portzen. He married Betsy (Kolupke) Ghighi on Jan. 8, 1993 in Princeton.

Survivors include his wife of Dalzell; one stepson, Jan G. Ghighi of Sacramento, Calif.; two sisters, Donna (Ron) Karstens of LaMoille and Mary (Rick) Anthony of Geneseo.

He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant daughter, Gina.

Al graduated from LaMoille High School and received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University. He served in the Army National Guard after his schooling. He worked at Hart Carter in Mendota and Sundstrand Corp. before becoming employed as project engineer at Black Brothers Co. Inc. in Mendota for 39 years until his retirement in 2008. Among his hobbies were trapshooting, gardening, woodworking and attending Cajun music festivals. His annual winter trips to Mexico with his wife were a source of great pleasure. Al will be remembered by family and friends for his easy-going nature, dependability and loyalty. He was often described as one-of-a-kind and someone who never spoke the words “I can’t.” He will be profoundly missed by all, especially his wife and “biggest fan,” Betsy.

Memorial donations may be made to Pancreatic Cancer Research at Mayo Clinic in memory of Alan Portzen.