In 1922 my grandparents welcomed their first born, a son - Alfred Jr. And for the first 8 years of his life, it was just him and them. Sadly, as a very young boy, he contracted polio and because it was before the vaccine, his leg was crippled, causing him to walk with a limp. But what he lacked for physically, he more than made up for mentally. He was blessed with a great intellect.
Growing up during the Great Depression, he became a great musician, with the saxophone being his specialty. In his teen years, he played in a band, performing in local venues.
Dad went to the University of Alabama where he majored in Business. After school, he married and helped his father in their car dealership as their bookkeeper.
As the 40's ended and the 50's began, he would go on to have 4 children and become involved in several different business endeavours.
Here, Dad was in his office.
As mentioned earlier, he was gifted with a great intellect. He was a voracious reader, a great writer and political thinker, always contributing to the local paper's editorial column his opinion on political affairs. At night, he would make the family so mad because we would be watching Jeopardy and before we could even understand the question being asked, he would belt out the answer.
Besides reading, he was also a great dresser. Quiet the dapper.
But Dad's qreatest quality, I believe, was his loyalty to his family, especially his parents. He loved them beyond measure and would do anything to honor them and uplift them.
Here he is with his oldest daughter, Marianne.
Dad's sixties saw the onslaught of cancer, first in his mouth, then his prostate and finally in his lungs. He always said that when his time came, he wanted to go in a dignified manner and that he did. He never complained. I was at his side the night before he passed. By then, he couldn't talk but I remember he looked up at me and smiled. That night, he went into his final eternal sleep.
He had lived a quiet, dignified life. Bless his memory.
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