Rudolph Syverson, noted Spring Valley educator for 40 years, died Saturday at the age of 74 in Luther Hospital, Eau Claire. He had been high school principal, school administrator and business manager here from 1923 until his retirement in 1963. On his retirement, the village turned out on 'Syver Day' to honor him and name the swimming pool and athletic field after him. A Rudolph Syverson College scholarship has also been established at the high school here.
Mr. Syverson was born in Eau Claire and later moved with his parents to a farm near Eleva. He was a graduate of Eau Claire High School, the Eau Claire Normal School, the University of Wisconsin, and attended the University of Minnesota. He was a former member of the Pierce County Board of Supervisors, president of the Pierce County Association for the Mentally Retarded, a member of the county school consolidation board, and had been president of the Spring Valley Municipal Nursing Home since it was organized. He served in the Army during World War I and was a member of American Legion Post 227 and the Spring Valley Masons.
He was married August 12, 1923, to Olga Ryan in Eau Claire. Besides his widow, he is survived by one son, Sherwood, at home; and two brothers, Ingvald, Eleva, and Sigvald, Eau Claire.
Funeral services will be held today at 1 p. m. in St. John's Lutheran Church here with the Rev. John E. Friedli officiating. Burial will be in Lake View Cemetery, Eau Claire. Friends may call at the Geving and Keehr Funeral Home in Spring Valley until noon today and then at the church.