Marlin Joseph Grasser, 80, died of natural causes Sept. 2 at the 3rd Medical Group Hospital on Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage.

A service will be held Sunday at 2 p.m., at the Palmer Elks Lodge on Bogard Road in Palmer with Edward Grasser officiating. Honorary Pallbearers are Ben Mulligan, David Combs, Jimmy Cameron, Gary Conradi, John Boatman and Dave Crawford.

Marlin was born June 20, 1929 in Valley City, N. D. He graduated high school and served in the  Army. He became an Alaska resident in 1947 and resided in Palmer. Marlin owned and operated Alaska Guides and Outfitters providing guided hunting and fishing trips. He was also was a member of the International Brotherhood of Operating Engineers Local 302 for most of his life. He retired from Local 302 in 1994.

Marlin was affiliated with the Lutheran Church, Palmer Elks Lodge, charter member of the Foundations for North American Wild Sheep, Safari Club International and Safari Club International Alaska Chapter.

Marlins life passion was his family and friends and his love of the outdoors. He was an avid hunter and angler which was also his life’s work. He loved animals, read prolifically and loved to tell his hunting stories.

Marlin’s family states, “Marlin was a loving husband and father whose strength lay in his steadfast independence and self-sufficiency which he passed on to his children. He was kind-hearted soul who adopted stray animals and loved all children. He lived life on his own terms free from the increasingly regulated lives we have today and by example taught others that real wealth lay not in the accumulation of material things, but in the enduring relationships we forge with our families and friends.”

He is survived by his wife, Kathryn Grasser, his son and daughter-in-law Edward and Susan Grasser, his daughters and sons-in-law, Peggy and Patrick Mulligan, Jeanne Grasser and Pete Wansor. His grandson Benjamin Mulligan, brother Bill Grasser and sisters Beverly Schweitzer and Trudy Crouse.

Arrangements are with Kehl’s Palmer Mortuary. www.legacyalaska.com In keeping Marlins passion for the outdoors, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to: Outdoor Heritage Foundation, PO Box 4752, Palmer, Alaska 99645. Marlins ashes will be spread on the mountains behind his cabin at Boulder Creek.