Alex LeRoy Kahler died peacefully surrounded by his family on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, at the Avera McKennan hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  

Memorial services will be held in Brookings, South Dakota at First Lutheran Church on Monday, Aug. 17, at 10:30 a.m. with visitation at Rude’s Funeral home in Brookings on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. He was 81 years old.   He was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska on July 4th, 1939 to Alec and Frieda (Graff) Kahler.

Alex was raised on the farm in the Morrill and Mitchell, Nebraska areas where he graduated from high school and lettered in basketball. He also sang in the high school and church choirs.  After graduation, he moved to California and earned degrees in Agronomy (BS), Plant Breeding (MS) and Population Genetics (PhD) from the University of California at Davis.

On June 15, 1963, Alex married his college sweetheart, Judith Ann (Janosco) Kahler at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Long Beach, California.  They had two sons, Alexander Lucas and Jonathan LeRoy.

In 1980, he accepted a position with the USDA Northern Grains Research Laboratory in Brookings as a Corn Research Geneticist.  In 1986, he accepted a position with the Garst Seed Company in Ames, Iowa where he helped to design their molecular genetics laboratory, one of the first plant biotechnology laboratories in the nation for the commercial seed industry. 

He returned to Brookings, South Dakota in 1988 and founded Biogenetic Services, Inc., an independent molecular genetics service laboratory to service the entire agricultural industry. He was also an Adjunct Professor in the Plant Science Department at SDSU.

He was associate editor of Theoretical and Applied Genetics, and in 2012 was honored as a Fellow in The American Society of Agronomy.  He was instrumental in establishing the International Plant and Animal Genome Conference held annually in San Diego, California.  He also helped to establish the South Dakota Biotechnology Association.  

He belonged to several scientific associations. Alex authored 116 scientific publications.

Alex enjoyed farming on the family homestead where he planted trees and cared for his gardens to raise vegetables for canning and freezing.  He especially had an affinity for making crock pickles and sauerkraut from the old family recipes of his grandparents. 

The joy of his life were his two sons and seven grandchildren. He loved to hear his sons playing their trumpets and enjoyed attending the grandchildren’s various school activities and church programs.  He followed them to their sports games and tournaments.

He is survived by his wife Judy of 57 years; his son Alexander (Michelle) Kahler and their son Nicholas Alexander (3 years old) of  Shoreview, Minnesota; his son Jonathan (Melissa) Kahler of Brookings and their six children Jonathan Paul (13), Natalie (11), Lucas (9), Addison (8), Charlotte (2) and Elizabeth (9 months);  his sister Barbara Kahler Blythe of Ellington, Connecticut; his sister Carol Kahler Salow (Don) of Fallbrook, California, as well as several nieces, nephews, cousins and  one Aunt, Alvina (Graff) Dowling of Palm Desert, California.

Alex was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Condolences may be sent to the family through www.rudesfuneralhome.com.