Identity area
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Authorized form of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Alfred Lyman Musson was born on August 31, 1911 at Honolulu, Hawaii to Alfred and Mildred Musson. In 1933, he received his bachelor's degree from Connecticut State College at Storrs. In 1934, Alfred earned a master's degree and in 1951 a doctorate degree both from Iowa State University at Ames. Alfred married Helen Saunders on November 28, 1935 at South Norwalk, Connecticut. They had three children; Alfred L., Jr., Esther, and Merrill and five grandsons. Helen Saunders Musson died in November 1987. He married Hannah Sharp at Brookings on February 18, 1989.
The Musson's were house parents at Greer School at Hope Farm in New York from 1938 to 1941. Alfred was called to active duty from the U.S. Army Reserve from 1931 to 1945 where he served in the 271st Infantry, 69th Infantry division of the United States Army. He was a veteran of World War II and retired from the service as a lieutenant colonel. He was employed with Iowa State University for six years, and later at the Hope Farm School for Dependent Children for three years. He joined the South Dakota State College faculty in October 1952 as professor and head of the Animal Science Department. From 1960 until his retirement in 1973, he served in the office of the Dean of Agriculture and Biological Sciences under various titles, and retired as associate director of the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station in June 1973. After his retirement, Musson pursued genealogy. He wrote a family history of his great-grandmother, which was published privately in 1986, and from 1980 until 1982, he published a family genealogy newsletter. He was a member of the Brookings Area Genealogy Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society and the Marblehead (Mass.) Historical Society. He was also involved with the Mystic Seaport, Inc., the 69th Infantry Division Association, the American Society of Animal Science, Gamma Sigma Delta, Sigma Xi, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He was a former Rotarian and Scoutmaster at Ames, Iowa.
Alfred died on Saturday, July 21, 1990 at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls. Interment was made at the Westwood Cemetery in Westwood, NJ.