Alvin C. Strutz Papers

Alvin Carl Strutz was born May 27, 1903, in Milbank, South Dakota, to Robert and Emma (Kahl) Strutz. He was educated in Bismarck and Jamestown and graduated from Jamestown High School in 1921. He attended Jamestown College and received a bachelor of arts degree in 1925. He next attended the law school at the University of North Dakota, graduating with a Juris Doctor degree in 1930. Strutz married Ina Vee Minor in 1930. The couple had three children: William, Donna, and Judith. He practiced law in Jamestown from 1930 to 1933, and in Bismarck from 1933 to 1937. Strutz's first statewide office came with his appointment as Attorney General to replace P. O. Sathre in December 1937. He served in that post until he resigned to run for governor in 1944. After his defeat he returned to private practice, establishing the firm of Strutz, Jansonius, and Fleck in Bismarck. Strutz continued in private practice until 1959 when he was appointed to the North Dakota Supreme Court to finish the term of the late Nels C. Johnson. Judge Strutz continued to serve on the Supreme Court until his death on June 16, 1973.

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