Allan M. Caya

 Allan M. Al Caya, age 92, of Potosi died Sunday, December 27, 2009 at Orchard Manor in rural Lancaster where he resided the past two years. Al was born on December 29, 1916 in Bismarck , ND , the son of Riley and N. Mildred (Vanderbilt) Caya. He graduated from Eastman High School in WI, served in the CCC and proudly served in the U.S. Army from mid 1941 until the end of WWII. Al served in the UK and from D-Day forward in battle across Europe, including D-Day invasion, the Liberation of Paris, the Battle of the Bulge, the Bridge at Remagen and the Liberation of Buchenwald, ending in  Czechoslovakia . After the war, he worked for the CB & Q Railroad, later the Burlington Northern, until his retirement in 1976. Al was also a commercial fisherman and loved opera.

Al married A. Patricia Drumm of  Enniskillen , Northern Ireland at Devizes , England on July 10, 1943. She preceded him in death on June 24, 1983.

Al is survived by four daughters: Eileen (George) Kopp, Kansas City, MO; Alice (Dan) Kerkenbush, Potosi; Deirdre (Arlyn) Weber, Potosi: Kathleen (Mark) Steuck, Dubuque, IA; 14 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; four step-great-grandchildren; a brother-in-law, John White, LaCrosse and a sister-in-law, Evelyn Caya, Bagley.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Pat; 11 siblings; a son, Peter and a daughter, Mary Hodgson.

Funeral services were held at  10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at Martin Funeral Home in Potosi with Teri A. Hanson officiating. Family and friends were welcome from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 29 and from 9:00 a.m. until time of services Wednesday all at the funeral home. Burial of cremains was held in Dickson Ridge Cemetery , Lynxville.