Former Attica Twp. Supervisor left his mark

By Phil Foley

Ochadleus was a dedicated public servant

ATTICA TWP. — He lived a heck of a life.

Al Ochadleus often described himself as a “punk kid from Brown City” who “married up” when he met Donna Buckingham.

He died at his Attica Township home July 30 following a long illness. He was 80.

After graduating from Brown City High School in 1962, he got his start cleaning out wooden sauerkraut barrels at Vlasic Food Products, Inc. in Imlay City.

By the time he retired in 1996, he had worked his way up to Director of the Michigan plants for Vlasic Foods and Campbell Soup.

Along the way Ochadleus earned an Associates degree in Economics at Mott Community College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Michigan. He was also a licensed contractor.

Ochadleus had a larger-than-life personality. “We thought he’d live forever,” said Attica Township Trustee Nancy Herpolshiemer.

He served his township as Township Supervisor for 26 years. He was also a member of the Lapeer County EMS board for 25 years, his last 10 as chairman.

“I valued Al for his friendship and presence,” said LCEMS Executive Director Russ

Adams maintained a relationship with Ochadleus after he lost his last re-election bid for township supervisor in 2024 and the township did not re-appoint him to the board.

Adams said Ochadleus’ insights into budgeting, navigating the county’s political landscape and strategic guidance will have a “lasting impact on the agency.”

He said Ochadleus understood the value of a county wide ambulance service and while he was not in favor of tax support for the agency in the beginning, he became an “unwavering supporter” of the measure, which first passed in 2016.

Scott Jarvis, Chairman of the Construction Code Authority (CCA) and Lapeer Township Supervisor, said he was “shocked” when he heard of Ochadleus’ passing. “He was a good guy to have on the board.”

Jarvis said Ochadleus served on the CCA board for more than 20 years. “He was very, very conscious of the numbers. He was very mathematically inclined,” Jarvis said, “Al was good at policy. He put a lot of thought into things.”

As Township Supervisor, Ochadleus added 10 acres to the township park, expanding it to 52 acres and added a playscape.  

Along with the late Township Trustee Phil Madeline, he created the township museum, which opened in 2009, in what had been a maintenance shed.

In 2017 Ochadleus convinced the board to approve a 1,400-square-foot addition to the museum.

Ochadleus revived the township’s decades old summer homecoming event in 2013 and Attica Days has become a popular two-day summer event.

He was an avid sportsman and enjoyed traveling the world.

Adams. “I was lucky to spend a couple of minutes with him last week.”

Though his career with Vlasic took him to Ohio for a time, he and Donna returned to the land they got from her mother on Newark Road.

Following a funeral Mass at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lapeer, the Ochadleuses in time plan to have their ashes combined and spread on a wild violet bed beneath a tree behind their home.