It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tom Wedge Ehrhardt, loving father, storyteller and seedsman, on Sept. 20 from an intercranial hemorrhage. He was 70 years old.

Tom grew up in Albert Lea in a family of seven where he learned to love the arts and nature. He sang as loudly as the next person at family gatherings, camped with family in the Boundary Waters and went on family trips. He loved swimming, biking, baseball, cars and downhill skiing. In high school he attended a poetry course at the University of Iowa.

He bought an MG when he was 16. Tom and his twin sister Margaret repaired the car. Eventually, he got his brother Pete to help start it with a tow. It ended up in the ditch. When the car was finally running, he gave a friend her first ride. She asked him if there was a top for the convertible. He pointed out a button for her to push. He let out his huge laugh when she caught on that there was no top.

Tom received a B.A. from Boston University in English. He wrote an honors thesis on W.H. Auden. After college he moved to Albert Lea to work in the family business – The Albert Lea Seed House - with his grandfather Lou, His father George and his brother Mac. When he and Mac took over the business, they began selling organic seed. Albert Lea Seed is now the largest provider of organic field seed in the United States.

He married Sally Steele Ehrhardt in 1992. Their son Andy was born in 1994.

In 2014 he married Sarah Buck, and they had two boys, Clyde and Rohn. Tom’s interests turned to beekeeping, chickens and alternative energy. He became an expert on beekeeping, giving a talk to the state legislature about planting to attract bees on public land. He built a passive energy house near his childhood home.

Tom is survived by his sons, Andy Ehrhardt, Clyde Ehrhardt and Rohn Ehrhardt; his brother Peter Ehrhardt and his children Britt, Kirsten and Reed; his brother George (Mac) Ehrhardt, his wife Sophie and their sons Izaak and Sam; his sister Anne (Todd) Ehrhardt Wilbur and her husband Tom Wilbur and their son Dylan; and sister Meg (Margaret) Ehrhardt. Many cousins and their families will also miss him – And his cat, Murphy and dog, Amy, and her new litter of seven puppies. (Who are looking for homes BTW!)

A memorial service will be held at a future date.