Howard Albertson: The marrying judge

As a Washington County District Court judge, Howard Albertson often saw people at their worst. But on about 6,000 occasions, the job also gave him an opportunity to share in their happiest moments -- as an enthusiastic, twinkle-eyed wedding officiant.

Albertson, who just might be in more wedding photos than any other person in Minnesota, died on Jan. 31 at his May Township farm, a picturesque setting complete with a beautiful white Victorian gazebo that he and his wife, Ellen, created for many of those nuptials. He was 84. His funeral services are on Tuesday.

"He was really one of a kind," said Ellen Albertson, his wife of more than 52 years.

Howard Albertson was appreciated for his quirky humor, personal warmth and a compassion that permeated everything he did.

Along with serving as judge from 1972 until retiring in 1996, he was elected by Washington County voters to six terms as a state representative, starting in 1960. He chaired the House Judiciary Committee and, as chairman of the Metropolitan and Urban Affairs Committee, was chief architect of groundbreaking legislation that created the Metropolitan Council in 1967.

But it was helping bring joy to weddings where he felt his true calling, Ellen Albertson said.

It might have been rooted in a lifetime of devotion to his own wife, who made an immediate impression when they were introduced by a mutual friend in Stillwater. "She was smart, beautiful and tall and I thought, 'I better snatch her up fast!' " he said. And he did: They married six months later, in 1958.

He started performing weddings even before becoming a judge, she said. Soon after graduating from William Mitchell College of Law and passing the bar, he was appointed a court commissioner, a position that gave him some legal powers that included officiating at weddings.

Once he donned the black robes, things snowballed, and he became known as "the marrying judge," a title in which he reveled.

He gave the marrying couple choices in the ceremony wording. But with experience, he told the Star Tribune in 2005, he brought some strong suggestions: Keep the ceremony short. Don't try to memorize your vows. Grooms, practice slipping the ring on your bride's finger, and don't jam it on if it doesn't fit. Brides, walk down the aisle naturally -- none of that "dumb hesitation step that fathers screw up every time."

And he liked to pass along what one of his daughters told him on her wedding day: "Everything may not go as planned, but who's going to know the difference? This is a celebration, and I'm going to have a good time."

In doing about 300 ceremonies a year, he took that advice as well, conducting ceremonies dressed in cowboy garb, in Renaissance attire, a Civil War uniform and Halloween costumes. He married people on planes, trains, boats and horseback. He officiated at the first wedding at the Mall of America's Chapel of Love, and on baseball fields.

But a good share of the services took place on his farm, which had been in his family for five generations. In 1982, Ellen Albertson said, they transformed it with weddings in mind, with the gazebo as a centerpiece. When it rained or when the couple wanted to be under a roof, the weddings were held in the red barn. His 15 acres were dotted with well-kept gardens of roses, clematis and fuchsia, statues and a collection of brightly painted antique farm machinery. He even offered a sliding price scale to help out some couples in need.

And he never lost his spark of humor. This winter, after a rash of thefts of Christmas presents from cars in Stillwater, he came up with a scheme to gift wrap some chicken manure, and leave the boxes as bait, said his daughter, Martha Albertson. While the plan was admired, it was never carried through.

A graduate of Stillwater High School and Gustavus Adolphus College, Albertson served in the Army during the Korean War.

He also was a past president of the Washington County Historical Society, Trinity Lutheran Church in Stillwater and the Stillwater Lions Club.

He is survived by his wife; daughters Martha of Minneapolis, Sarah Foslien of Mahtomedi and Laura Albertson of May Township, and four grandchildren.

Services will be held on Tuesday at Christ Lutheran Church, Marine on St. Croix. Visitation is from 4 to 6 pm. Services are at 6 p.m., with dinner to follow.

Jim Anderson • 651-735-0999