John Randolph "Randy" Alexander

John Randolph (Randy) Alexander was born on March 17, 1940 in Daisetta, Texas. His mother died at his birth, so he was taken care of by his father and his sisters. In 1942, he went to live with his oldest sister, Katherine Parker and her husband Oscar Parker in Cleveland, Texas. In 1944, they moved to Lufkin, Texas. Randy started school in Lufkin, Texas in 1946. Later that year they moved to Jasper, Texas. He started in the second grade at Beech Grove School, outside of Jasper, the next year. In the third grade they moved to Nacogdoches, Texas for part of the year, and then back to Jasper. After graduation from Jasper High School in 1958, he went to Cleveland, Texas to stay with his sister, Dixie Oliver, to find work. His first job was with a carpenter as a helper. After that, he worked at a furniture factory (Waldorf Inc.) in Cleveland, Texas from August 1958 – October 1959 as a Master trim Craftsman. From October 1959 – September 1961, he worked with Southern Pacific Railroad in the Maintenance of Way Department. From September 1961 – February 1968 he worked for Houston Natural Gas Co. as a pipe fitter on an emergency leak repair crew. Then he went to work at the Southland Sheldon Paper Mill on February 1968 as a helper in the Power plant. He worked his way up through all the jobs and became top Operator on April 25th, 1975, he was offered a job as a Senior Control Systems Engineer to install and maintain the first computer control system in the Power Plant. He worked his way up to Principal Control Systems Engineer and retired in January 2000. He married Helen Dorothy “Dot” (Hansbro) Alexander on October 27, 1959 and had their first child Rhonda Kay (Alexander) Daigle on February 28, 1960. Their second child, Mark Wade Alexander, was born on September 10, 1962. Their third child, Clint Randolph Alexander, was born on August 16, 1970. In 1999 they bought a fifth wheel travel trailer to use when retired. He retired from Sheldon Paper Mill in January 2000. In year 2000 they traveled to Arkansas and Idaho. In year 2001 they traveled to California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Canada, and South Dakota. In 2002 they traveled to Florida in February and again in October. In 2010 he traveled to Singapore and then to Australia and New Zealand. Pastor Dick Phillips will preside over funeral services being held Sunday, August 04, 2013, 12:30 p.m. at Homer United Methodist Church, Jasper, Texas with interment at Homer Cemetery, Jasper, Texas.