ALVIN DEE AUSTIN

Services: 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, Cantlon Otterness Funeral Home of Buffalo. Burial in Oak Lawn Cemetery. Visitation: 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Bro. Ron Erven will officiate. Online condolences can be made at www.cantlonotterness.com.

Escorts will be David Stark, Gary Stark, Martin Austin, Mike Austin, Larry Krotchel and Bill Fuller.

Alvin Dee Austin, 87, was born Oct. 11, 1927, in Halfway, the son of Alva Dredd and Martha Opal (Moore) Austin. He died Aug. 25, 2015, in Bolivar.

He was reared and attended school in Halfway. He helped raise his family and put them through school after his dad passed away when he was 12.

After his schooling he carried milk for MFA for a short time before moving to Kansas City to work at the General Motors plant.

He was united in marriage with Betty Jane Smith on July 3, 1948. They made their home in Kansas City for a short time before moving to Buffalo, then Halfway.

He worked for the state highway department, retiring in 1992 after 34 years with the road department.

After his retirement, they built a new house in Buffalo and lived there for 13 years before moving to Bolivar in 2005.

He enjoyed gardening, fruit trees, vegetables, working with his roses, bird and rabbit hunting, and putting up hay. He had a Christmas cactus that he grew for years and also developed a black rose through his horticultural skills.

He was a member of the Halfway Missionary Baptist Church since 1941.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers: John and Lawrence Austin; and one sister, Carolyn Todd.

Survivors include his wife, Betty, of the home; one son, Steven and wife, Karen Austin, Halfway; one daughter, Sherry Jo Austin, Bolivar; one brother, Tommy Austin, Buffalo; two sisters: Gladys Summers, Bolivar, and Naomi Barham, Halfway; four grandchildren: Jennifer Dodson, Paul Williams, David Stark and Gary Stark; eight grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, and other family members and friends who will all truly miss him.