Obituary

Alfred Paul Pfordte passed away on May 16, 2015, from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Al, as he was known to his friends, and Pop by his children, was born on June 16, 1929, in New York, to Elfriede and Adolph Pfordte. Al and his younger sister Eleanor lived in Germany before he enlisted in the Army at 16. Assigned to Bavaria and Austria after WW 2, Al first guarded German POWs and helped recover stolen art. He transferred to the Military Police and ultimately the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

While stationed in Salzburg, he met and in 1952 married Klementine Trautmann; there also daughter Susan was born. In 1953, Al was transferred to run the CID office at Walter Reed in Washington, D.C., where son Fred was born. Next stop was Fitzsimmons Medical in Denver, where son Richard was born. While at Fitzsimmons, Al was assigned to help protect President Eisenhower, who was recovering from a heart attack. (When Al was a soldier, they had met during a base inspection in Germany.) Al then served a tour of duty in Korea and 3 years in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, before being assigned in 1961 to West Berlin.

The newly built wall divided the city, and Al’s duties regularly put him at Check Point Charlie and other hot spots during that cold war period. For example, Al was one of the American officials on the Glienicke Bridge when Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for Rudolf Abel. His fluency in German and knowledge of the area made him a natural for important tasks with visiting dignitaries, such as tours along the wall or escorting them through communist East Germany on the life line Autobahn to West Germany. As part of the 11th CID, Al was one of the few Americans authorized to visit East Berlin in a personal vehicle, and he frequently inspected the Allied prison in Spandau where notorious war criminals were incarcerated. Al was again assigned to help the Secret Service protect the President, this time John F. Kennedy during his visit to West Berlin in 1963.

Al was transferred to Fort Douglas, Utah, in 1966, where he ultimately headed the CID office, and retired from the Army in 1968 as a Warrant Officer. Employed by Southland Corporation (7-11), Al moved to Arizona in 1970 where he managed the company’s local real estate operations for 22 years. After retiring from Southland, Al suffered the loss of his wife Klementine who passed away in 1992 and his son Fred in 1997. At the end of 1997, Al married Mona Cordner, who had become his best friend. Al devoted his last years taking care of Mona, who passed away earlier this year.

Al leaves behind many grieving friends and family. He is survived by sister Eleanor Anstett of New Jersey, daughter Susan Keller of Goodyear, son Richard of Virginia, grandson Michael Keller of Goodyear, granddaughters Jessica Bustamante of Scottsdale and Elizabeth Ward of Idaho, and great grandchildren Helena Bustamante, Alexander Bustamante, and David Bustamante.

Services will be held at the National Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N. Cave Creek Road, on May 26, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Mount of Olives Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3456 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85018. http://www.mountofolivesaz.org