John Alvin Hay, Sr.

John Alvin Hay, Sr., was born in San Angelo, Texas and died here June 16, 2018, at the age of 96. Burial will be held on June 19, 2018 10:00 A.M. at Fairmount Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at 11:00 A.M. at First United Methodist Church. Alvin Hay was the son of Grady Small Hay and William Tait Hay. He was an Eagle Scout, a graduate of San Angelo High School, and attended San Angelo Junior College. With guidance and financial assistance from his mentor Houston Harte, whom he later fully repaid, he was able to attend college. In return, he privately assisted several young people in attending college through the years. An avid Longhorn, he even assisted his Turkish exchange student in obtaining his PhD from Texas. A&M. Alvin was graduated from the University of Texas in 1943 with a Business degree in accounting. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor while he was still in school, Alvin, like many of his classmates, immediately joined the Navy in 1941. He was called to active duty in April of 1943 and went to Officer Candidate School in Chicago, where he completed his training as one of many military graduates known as a "90-day-wonder." After receiving his commission but before shipping out, Alvin married Mary Belle Rodgers in San Angelo on August 22, 1943 and used his uniform allowance for a two-day honeymoon in San Diego. He then left on his assignment to the U. S. LCI (G) 462, serving in the Pacific Theater. His twenty-six months of sea duty included a trip through the Panama Canal and several stops in Hawaii. He spent most of the war participating in invasions in the South Pacific, including the Marshall Islands, Guam, Bikini Island, Saipan, New Guinea, Manilla, the Philippine Campaign, and Okinawa, attaining the rank of Captain. In December 1945, he was placed on inactive duty and returned to San Angelo. On January 1, 1946, he became a junior accountant with the firm then known as Jones and Freeze. He passed his certified public accounting examination in 1947. Alvin engaged in the practice of public accounting with the same accounting firm during some or all of seven decades, becoming the senior partner in the firm now known as Jones, Hay, Marschall & McKinney. Throughout the decades, he was a mentor, role model, and advisor to many accountants and other young persons. Alvin Hay was a member of numerous civic organizations during his professional career. He was on the Board of City Development, San Angelo Industries Board of Directors, and a member of the San Angelo School District Board of Trustees when it voluntary desegregated the public schools. He was an active member of the Downtown Kiwanis Club for more than fifty years, serving as President. Alvin was a member of First United Methodist Church for over 77 years, serving as President and on the Board of Stewards. He nominated the first two women who served on the church Board. He was the oldest living member of the church at the time of his death and, after he was unable to attend in person, he listened faithfully to the Sunday morning services on the radio. Despite gradually losing his eyesight to glaucoma, he lived out his life in the home his wife and he built in 1960. Alvin Hay was predeceased by his wife Mary Belle Hay in 2012, two brothers, H.P. Hay and William Hay, and two sisters, Mary Petty and Ruth Cooper. He is survived by his son John Alvin Hay, Jr. and wife Marilyn Aboussie, son Gordon Rodgers Hay and wife Sandy, grandson John Alvin Hay III, several nieces and nephews, and his "Spanish son," exchange student Rafael Mazarrasa and family. The Hay family wishes to thank Dr. Charles M. Jones for his personal care of Alvin and Mary Belle for several decades and the staff of Shannon Hospital and St. John care center who cared for Alvin during the last month of his life. Friends and family can sign the online register book at www.harper-funeralhome.com