James Posey Alford, 97, of Gonzales, passed away Friday, December 14, 2018. James was born February 22, 1921 to Mary Ellen Gilmore Alford and James Isaac Alford in Houston, Texas. Within a year or so, the young family moved back to Waelder, Texas where Posey’s brother Delma was born. Posey attended school there and graduated from Waelder High School where he lettered in football, basketball, and track. While a student in Waelder, he took piano lessons from Miss Ruth Alsup as well. Although his disgruntled mother cut off piano lessons when he started playing football, Posey enjoyed playing the piano all his life. Posey attended college at Texas A & I in Kingsville for one year. That was time well spent because he had an English teacher there who encouraged his writing and love of literature. After transferring to Texas A&M College, he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and Captain of D Infantry. His entire class graduated early in January of 1943 instead of May because the cadets were being sent straight through with no summer break due to World War II. After graduation he was assigned to Armored School in Fort Knox, Kentucky; and after Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He said he didn’t like the sound of being assigned to an armored division but was told there was nothing he could do about it. His instincts were right. Serving in Germany as a light tank commander in the 746th Tank Battalion, he miraculously survived many harrowing encounters with the much larger German tanks. Following WWII’s end, Posey returned to Waelder for a brief time before moving to Houston, where he worked for the Clipper Carloading Company. He moved up quickly in this railroad industry, because by early 1948 he had moved to Dallas where he was Manager of the Texas Division. It was in Dallas that he began his affiliation with the Masonic Lodge. However, he was soon sent to the Chicago headquarters where he enjoyed all that the Windy City had to offer. In Chicago he even performed the role of “the milkman” in a local production of the play Our Town. Ironically, it was his role as the son of a dairy farmer which brought Posey back to Texas. When his father’s health declined and his mother needed help with the family dairy business, he moved back to Texas where he became the real-life Waelder milkman for a while. Shortly after arriving back in Waelder he began to date a local girl who was a senior at the University of Texas. He married Mary Elliott Henderson on July 18, 1953, and shortly after that he began teaching vocational agriculture and was the FFA sponsor for the Waelder school district. Not only was he a teacher, but he also participated in many other agricultural endeavors from growing watermelons, raising and showing registered Landrace hogs, to producing turkey eggs for a major hatchery. Additionally, he spent two summers earning his masters in education at Texas A&M University. After teaching for many years in Waelder, Posey became the Junior High School counselor in Gonzales and during that time did post graduate work in guidance and counseling and became a Licensed Professional Counselor. As a student of Posey Alford, the ag teacher, back in the “old days,” you were nobody if you had not had the opportunity to sign Mr. Alford’s infamous paddle. Somehow he managed to combine strict discipline with fun, a knack not lost on his former students. When he became a middle school counselor, Posey switched hats easily. His love of kids gave James P. Alford the talent for knowing the perfect educational style and needs for every group. Around Gonzales Middle School he could be found in the halls talking to kids about their daily lives, offering his tie in exchange for wearing their shell necklace for the day, or helping a quickly-growing boy get a new pair of shoes. Although he retired from the Gonzales ISD in 1988, he did not retire from his active lifestyle. Having always been involved in agriculture, Posey continued raising both commercial cattle as well as registered Piedmontese cattle. Inspired by his mother-in-law’s penchant for genealogy, he began the search for his own ancestors. This was long before it was cool or easy to do. During retirement Posey also began a hobby of after-dinner speaking as well as participating in plays in Gonzales and Schulenburg. His after-dinner speaking engagements even took him out of town sometimes, but speaking to local friends organizations was always the most fun. Following one of his speaking engagements the famous Paul Baker asked him to perform the iconic role of Stage Manager in the play Our Town in the Schulenburg’s Backstage community theater. Posey was fortunate to perform in various roles at the Crystal Theater in Gonzales, but his favorite was that of Elwood P. Dowd in the play Harvey. To his great delight, he was invited to reprise that role in Schulenburg. Posey had a way with the written word as well - penning letters to the Austin American Statesman when their sportswriters were unjust to the Aggies as well as humorous uplifting letters to friends who might need a boost. His children are most grateful to him for taking the time to write his war memoirs since he rarely told the stories to anyone but his Marine son-in-law. In typical Posey way, he incorporated the small amount of humor he was able to find in the war into the history of his experiences. Posey was an avid jogger, participating in 10K runs for many years. He even organized groups at the Gonzales Junior High and took the school bus to several. He finally gave up jogging when he turned 80, but he continued to play the piano, walk at the track, and speak at functions for several years after that. On November 29 of this year, Posey was presented with his 70 year pin by the Hopkinsville Masonic Lodge of Waelder. Posey is survived by his three children, daughter and son-in-law Amanda & Rob Urban, son and daughter-in-law, James Henderson & Gina Alford, and daughter and son-in-law, Mary Chella & Marq Gordon. Posey was exceptionally proud of his 15 grandchildren, Virginia Urban Light, Ross Urban, Callie Urban, Susannah Urban, Eloise Urban, Raf Urban, Birdie Urban, John Alford, Julie Alford, Jim Alford, Giselle Alford, Kaitlin Gordon, Travis Gordon, Ava Gordon, and Sophie Gordon. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Mary Elliott, and brother Delmar (D. Ray). Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, December 20, 2018 in the Gonzales First Baptist Church with Rev. Anthony DuBose and Rev. Richard Cobler officiating. Interment will follow in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery with the Masonic burial rite and Military Honors. Pallbearers include: Jim Alford, Mark Harrison, Keith Harrison, Shawn Harrison, Danny Janecka, Ross Urban, Jack Burney and Kyle Crozier. Honorary pallbearers: John Posey Alford and Travis Gordon. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday evening in Seydler-Hill Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the Gonzales Public Library, the Hopkinsville Masonic Lodge and the Gonzales Masonic Lodge. Friends may leave condolences to the family by visiting www.seydlerhillfuneralhome.com. Services are under the care and direction of Seydler-Hill Funeral Home.

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