Alvin Williams Jr.

November 11th, 1947 - February 23rd, 2009

Alvin's Memory Wall

We encourage you to share your most beloved memories of Alvin here, so that the family and other loved ones can always see it. Share your favorite stories or comment on those shared by others.

Dear Rick, family, and friends of Al,
We are so saddened by Al's death, but we're especially sad about the long illness Al suffered the last couple of years. He was such a sweet guy, a good athlete, a friendly, kind person, and a close friend of Denny's and our family's for a long time. We are not able to attend the funeral on Saturday,but we wish we could be there to pay our respects and to see many old friends and acquaintances from Centre Court and West Hills who may be there to honor the memory of Al. Hugs to all of you.

Denny met Al at Centre Court probably shortly after we joined back in 1979 or '80, maybe, playing tennis. Al soon became one of Den's favorite tennis partners for fun and competition. Another sport Al played but which was not mentioned in the obituary was "wallyball". Den and I played wallyball with Al,his friend, Deb Zylman,our brother-in-law, Bill Brychta, and other friends of ours or Al's once a week for quite awhile at Center Court. We all loved to hang out with Al because of his pleasant nature, good sportmanship, good humor, and kind nature. Al was a humble guy who seemed to feel it was important to be a team player and let others participate, but he was also a good competitor and played his best. One summer Al practiced using his wind-surfer on Eagle Lake, where we live, and generously offered us the use of it. We took him water-skiing a few times in the summer, and in the winter, Den and Al snow-skiied. We saw a lot of Al in those days, and had a lot of fun. Our girls, especially the older two, Emily, and Heidi, knew him as "Uncle Al" then. Wallyball wasn't available after the Centre Court membership was moved over to West Hills,and when Den had to quit playing tennis for physical reasons, we quit our membership at West Hills. As sometimes happens, friends drift apart, and we didn't see Al very often anymore. However, we tried to keep in touch with him now and then, and always felt a fondness for Al. After we learned of Al's brain tumor, we occasionally visited him at his house, in the hospitals, nursing homes, and at hospice. We feel we were very lucky to be friends with Al for many years, and we were glad to get to meet Rick and some of Al's dearest friends through him. Al made the world a warmer, friendlier place, and we will all miss him very much.
With our sincere sympathy,
Vicki and Denny

Vicki and Dennis Konzen

It was with great sadness that we learned of Al's passing. We had the good fortune to have Al play on our co-ed volleyball team, "The Stormclouds", in the Portage rec. league. Al was very athletic and talented. With his help, we won several league championships. We had no idea that Al was dealing with any infirmities, as he was one of the best players in the league.
Al lived in our neighborhood and we would often see him on his daily walks. He would often stop chat with us and to see how things were going for us.
Al was a wonderful man and we will miss him and remember him fondly.