Celebrating a century

WWII Navy veteran turns 100

By Jillian Kellerman

World War II Navy Veteran Bert Rudie, currently of Albertville, turned 100 years old on April 18, 2026. On his birthday, a party was held in Rudie’s honor at the Albertville City Hall in Albertville. Approximately 55 guests attended, including five members of the St. Michael American Legion Post.

World War II Navy Veteran Bert Rudie at his 100th birthday party at the Albertville City Hall in Albertville.  Contributed photo

Rudie was born April 18, 1926 in Holdingford, Minn. to parents Joe and Marie Rudie. He grew up in the times of no running water or electricity, getting stuck on muddy dirt roads in the country, and having a snow drift accumulating inside the house, as there was no insulation. Their refrigeration consisted of keeping milk, butter, and other perishable foods in the bottom of a well that was accessed using a rope with a bucket. They used horses to do the field work on the farm, until they purchased their first tractor when Rudie was about 10 or 11. And when he was 12, Rudie started driving cars.

“My Dad said, ‘If you can drive the tractor, you ought to be able to drive the car.’ So I tried it and… I could drive the car and shift it with a stick shift. I would drive and do errands. I didn’t have a driver’s license,” Rudie said.

When Rudie did finally get his license, he had already bought his first car – a 1933 Chevrolet. After graduating from Upsala High School in 1943 and leaving home to work at a dairy farm near Dassel, he said he filled out a little card at the post office, paid 50 cents, and they sent him a driver’s license.

“There never was a written test or driving test. We just drove… no insurance – never ever had any insurance,” he said.

At that time, Rudie said wages were $1 a day and gas was 10 cents per gallon.

In 1945, Rudie enlisted in the Navy and went to basic engineering school at Great Lakes Naval Academy, between Milwaukee, Wis. and Chicago, Ill. He later was sent to refrigeration school in Norfolk, Va. and, after training, went onto the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Atlantic fleet. Rudie had a job working with the turbine generators below deck.

“The Navy’s course of training in Norfolk, Va., enabled me to recognize and work from blueprints to improve the efficiency of the ship’s four electric power system turbines,” he said.

He took in all the historic sites as the ship crossed the Atlantic Ocean, patrolled the Mediterranean Sea, and eventually visited ports in North Africa and Southern Europe, Rome and Venice, and Greece.

After he got out of the Navy, Rudie worked in refrigeration in Minneapolis until he married Florence Gelking in May of 1950 and moved to Crystal. The couple has two daughters, Kathy and Connie, and a son, Brian. Florence passed away in May of 2013.

At Rudie’s 100th birthday party, he was presented with a framed picture of the USS Roosevelt, the ship he sailed on during WWII, and gave him a military salute. Bert’s daughter, Connie, and her high school classmate’s five-piece band played music at the party. Happy Birthday was sung and Rudie gave a thank-you speech.

“Today is very special to me. Thank you all for being here to celebrate ‘life’ with me. I’m humble and grateful for all your birthday wishes,” he said.

Rudie’s cousin, Sherry Brady Olmscheid, described the 100th birthday party as a “smashing success,” saying it was “warm and distinctive” with “a lot of personal touches.” Rudie still drives locally and is said to be “sharp as a tack.”