Albert Frederick Ruhlig
of Dexter, age 104, died Monday, January 13, 2025, at Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital. He was born September 4, 1920, on the family farm in Dexter, Michigan, the son of Emil A. and Hazel L. (Campbell) Ruhlig.
Albert served in the US Navy Reserve in the South Pacific during World War II, serving in Japan, China, and the Caroline Islands from December 5,1944 to June 7, 1946. He was in Tokyo Bay the day before the signing of the peace treaty, when his ship the U.S.S. Tappehanock fueled the battleship Missouri, where the formal surrender was signed by Emperor Hirohito and General Douglas MacArthur. Albert returned to the family farm and later purchased the adjacent farm in 1946, where he would spend the remainder of his life. He was baptized in 1920, at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Detroit. He was confirmed in 1935, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, where he was active in many leadership roles, such as Church Elder and Sunday School Teacher, until 1973, when he transferred his membership to Our Savior Lutheran Church in Chelsea. He remained active in church leadership until he retired in 1986, but continued to be active in the church until his death.