Venice Dain (Al) Alford was born November 3,1929 to James Lawrence Alford and MayBelle Drake Alford (Stone) in the west Texas town of Gouldbusk. A child of the Great Depression, Al and his younger brother were raised by their father after their mother departed for other adventures when Al was six. Their father, Lawrence, was an amazing man in his own right. He was a hardworking, sunup to sundown farm laborer, and later worked for the WPA (where his wages went from 50 cents a day on the farm to .00 a day with WPA!). Lawrence insisted on keeping and raising his two boys when MayBelle left, even when family tried to step in and help. He instilled his own decency, honesty, and solid values in Al, using a little (sometimes a lot) of tough love. You would work very hard to find a better, more humble, more generous soul than Lawrence, and Al definitely took after him. The boys spent many of their youngest days finding their own entertainment. They lived in the country and had no other kids around, but they did live on a river and had many adventures. Al talked longingly about that river and the fun they had until his very last days. Al took after his father, working in the cotton fields at a young age. He learned very quickly that picking cotton was not his cup of tea. Leaving high school early, he worked stints in the west Texas oil fields, nearly losing an eye when a burst valve sent oil sludge into his face. The upside was a hospital stay with some very attentive and attractive nurses, according to Al, plus he retained full vision in his eye. He also worked in construction for a government contractor building family housing, among other things. A couple of times, jobs disappeared at the drop of a hat, leaving him without money, transportation, or a future - but he said that although he'd been hungry at times, it was never for long. Eventually, Al joined the Army, where he earned the nickname Al. He was happy with that since he never liked the name Venice. A tall skinny kid with bright fire-engine red hair had enough trouble without having an odd name, too! He served a tour, got out, was recalled, and decided the military was a pretty good deal. He joined the Army Air Corps this time, which later became the Air Force, where he finished high school and began college with the University of Maryland. "Other guys would go to the club and drink beer after work, but that wasn't me. I wanted to get ahead!" he would later say. He was always a creator and loved to build things - anything. Those talents served him well as an Air Force Civil Engineer. There he worked on everything from family housing inspections in the local civilian communities in Japan, to building aircraft runways, to inspecting Minuteman missile silos in the American Midwest, to erecting Air Force infrastructure throughout Korea with the first cold weather heavy construction Red Horse unit. His Air Force assignments included: Lackland AFB, Texas Ft Warren, Wyoming Mountain Home, Idaho Keesler Field and Ship Island, Mississippi Sidi Slimane, Morocco Sondrestrom Field, Greenland McCord AFB, Washington Tachikawa AFB, Japan Biggs AFB, Texas Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico Whiteman AFB, Missouri Kunsan, Korea In 1956, while he was a young, single guy at McCord AFB in Washington State, some friends of his - younger airmen - gave him a phone number. "Call this girl, she is really nice, but she's too old for us." So, out of the blue, he called Marilynn Russell (who was probably all of 24 years old). "You don't know me," he told her. "My name's Venice, I'm from Texas, I'm tall and skinny and redheaded and ugly as hell. Do you want to go out?" She said yes! And that was the start of a beautiful love affair that lasted until Marilynn's death in June 2010, well after their 53rd wedding anniversary. They lived in Washington until Al got orders to Japan. He expected Marilynn to stay with her mother, but she had other ideas. "Where you go, I go," she told him, and she did just that, accompanying him everywhere except Korea, his final assignment. They traveled on a troop ship to Japan while Marilynn was pregnant, and technically not allowed to travel aboard the ship, but she and Al kept the pregnancy a secret until they arrived in Japan. Marilynn, too, was an independent, quiet, determined, 5'4" force of nature. He liked to say that he had traveled across both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans by both ship and air. Al and Marilynn had two children: Leslie, born in Japan; and Steven, born in Puerto Rico; and many adventures in all their assignments. Al retired from the Air Force in 1969 at 39 years old. The family moved to Texas, where Al built their home across the field from the home he had built earlier for his own father. Over the next years, Al did many things. He drove and maintained school buses, worked for an electrical construction company, a propane company, and county road crew, where he became foreman and eventually county commissioner. And he built things. He built cabinets and he built dairy barns. He built residential homes. He built dining tables, and he built musical instruments - guitars and dobros. He built concrete bridges, replacing the old rickety wooden ones throughout the county. To others, it was a big deal. To him, a simple thing. He painted cars but eventually had to stop because he had too MUCH business. The family lived on a small farm (by Texas standards), and he raised a few cattle, who were all pets. He loved working the land, always making improvements. He played music, and with some friends, formed a band, the Countrytime Pickers. They played widely throughout the area, at diners, restaurants, community halls, senior centers, and festivals. He played with some people that he knew were well known, and he played with some famous people about whom he had no clue. He just enjoyed music, and he enjoyed people, and he enjoyed being out and about. He played his last guitar tunes at Brookdale Senior Living, where he was a resident, just days before his death. Eventually, he moved from Stephenville, Texas, to Jacksonville, in East Texas. He and Marilynn liked the Piney Woods, the rainier, wetter climate, and the people. They bought property and Al built a cabin initially for short stays but then moved permanently there. Then he bought more property, and because he just wanted to try it, he built a berm tiny home on a creek bank, which became his last Texas home. There he turned an overgrown and long-neglected tomato farm into a clean and manicured area, planted with a pecan grove and pine trees that are so orderly, the place is easily identified from satellite images. Marilynn died in June 2010 after a long illness, during which Al totally devoted himself to her care. He was heartbroken. He was tired and fragile. But he was also the owner of a brand-new custom-ordered camper and soon, a renewed sense of wanderlust. He traveled near and far for the next six years, exploring favorite places and brand-new ones. In 2016, his health and memory diminishing, he moved to Kansas, and in 2017, he moved into assisted living. There he found new friends, a solid social circle, a consistent schedule, and excellent care. He never lost the desire to go for a ride, which he took frequently. He never stopped enjoying an ice-cold slice of watermelon or stuffing his pockets with chocolates like a squirrel when no one was watching. He'd shrug when he got caught and say "Well, I might get hungry." And then he'd grin. He never stopped enjoying playing the guitar, singing a favorite tune, or speaking Spanish with anyone who would indulge him. He never lost his sense of humor, his appreciation for those around him, or his curiosity. The internet was a great friend, because he had lots of random questions about the world, and it was common for him to say, "get on your phone and find out....." Al always said he wanted to live to 90. He reached that milestone in 2019 and had to revise his goal to 95. He turned 95 years old on November 3, 2024. "I'll never make 100", he would say, "but I'll go as long as I can". And he did. That time came to an end when Al passed away peacefully on February 15, 2025. He was preceded in death by his wife and best friend, Marilynn Russell Alford, in 2010. He leaves behind their daughter, Leslie Alford (Jim Hood); son, Steven Alford (Becky); grandson, Rubin Alford; granddaughter, Sydni Carrizales; and seven great-grandchildren. His ashes will be interred next to Marilynn in Texas. A memorial will be announced at a later date. If you wish to do something in memory of Al, please consider making a donation to a charity of your choice, or to the Alzheimer's Association at alz.org or American Diabetes Association at donors.diabetes.org. You can also plant a tree for Al, who planted many, many trees during his lifetime and loved the great outdoors. Contributions may be sent in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502. Online condolences may be left for the family through the funeral home website at www.ymlfuneralhome.com To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Venice "Al", please visit our floral store. [br]Arrangements by Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home.