Alvah Leo Rowe, 87, died Jan. 10, 2016, at home surrounded by his family.
He was born Jan. 7, 1929, in West Palm Beach, Florida. His parents were Dr. A.L. Rowe Sr. and Louise Conner Rowe, of Lake Worth, Florida.
He graduated from Lake Worth High School in 1946, where he was a member of the swim team and earned a private pilot license. He attended Auburn University, graduating in 1950 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, serving as president in 1950. He was elected to several scholastic and honorary societies including Blue Key, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi and others. He was a member of the first graduating class of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) at Auburn and served as Company Commander in 1950. On graduation he was commissioned Ensign, United States Navy. He married Jane Elgin Ashford of Courtland on June 6, 1950. His initial assignment was completed on an amphibious attack transport ship, USS OKANOGAN, in Norfolk. The ship was dispatched that June to San Diego to transport Marine Reserves to Korea. Following Korea, where he was involved in three landing actions: Wonsan, Pusan and Inchon, as well as a refugee evacuation from North Korea, he was assigned to NAS Pensacola. He was later assigned to USS MIDWAY. After returning from the MIDWAY duty in the Mediterranean, he and Jane moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He graduated with a Science master degree in 1955.
Joining Chemstrand Corporation in 1955 at Decatur, he worked in Acrilan fiber development, later polyester development at Pensacola and Decatur, nylon fiber development at Decatur and Pensacola and Putnam, Connecticut. He spent two years in Saint Louis, Missouri, and returned to Decatur in the Monsanto Central Engineering Department. He was a registered Professional Engineer, a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He was a longtime member (since 1962) of the MIT Educational Council which involved interviewing students in the area who had applied for admission to MIT. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Decatur where he taught a Sunday School Class, was a member and Chairman of the Board of Deacons, and was a member of the Session, serving as Clerk of Session. He was a member of Kiwanis Club of Decatur, and the Decatur Country Club. He was preceded in death by his parents and a younger brother, Robert Conner Rowe. He is survived by his sister, Jane L. Rowe, and brother, Thomas Stephen Rowe.
He is also survived by his wife, Jane Ashford Rowe; three sons, Stephen Ashford Rowe, Frederick Elgin Rowe and Alvah Leo Rowe, III; and eight grandchildren.
His son Stephen and his wife, Julia Bradley Rowe, of Birmingham, have three children, Julia Northington Rowe, Marguerite Ashford Rowe and Stephen Bradley Rowe. His son Frederick has two sons, Frederick Ashford Rowe and Gaines Elgin Rowe. His son Alvah Leo has two daughters, Allen Ashford Rowe and Wiley Harrison Rowe, and one son, Conner Merrill Rowe.
A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 701 Oak Street, Decatur, on Friday, Jan. 15, at 11 a.m. The family will receive visitors in the parlor of the church beginning at 10 a.m. The family suggests memorials be made to the church. Hartselle Heritage Funeral Home is assisting the family.
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