Alvin John Elder

Alvin  “A.J.” Elder, age 100,  passed away peacefully  on Monday, June 19, 2017  A.J. was born on June 30, 1916 in Caruthers, CA.      

At an early age, A.J. seemed to have a talent for all things mechanical.  When his family got their first car, his job was to turn the crank to get it started. When it broke down, he fixed it. He just seemed to know how. At age 23, A.J. moved to Los Angeles to take government sponsored classes in welding and mechanics.  At school, he met the love of his life, Marie Marlett.  They married in 1940 and moved to Caruthers starting a cotton farm.  There they had their first child, son Jerry.  Waiting for the cotton to mature, A.J. worked at a blacksmith shop to help pay bills.  He built an irrigation pump powered by a Buick car engine that ran on stove oil, a revolutionary idea that only A.J. could have pulled off.  It wasn’t long before the US became involved in WWII.  Sensing that he would be drafted, he moved his family to Oakland where both he and Marie worked at the Kaiser Shipyards building Liberty Ships.  In 1943, A.J. moved his family to Stockton where he bought Marie her first new home and their daughter Judy was born.  Shortly afterward, A.J. was drafted into the US Army, where he helped maintain jeeps, trucks and other equipment needed for the war. He was honorably discharged, returned home and went to work for Jones Bros. Stevedoring at the Port of Stockton.  In 1954, he moved his family to Escalon where he opened a welding shop servicing farm equipment.  One of his best customers was Hollywood actor Ben Johnson.  As his children grew older, A.J. knew they would need to be closer to advanced schools and colleges.  In 1958, the family moved to Sacramento.  A.J. went to work for a number of companies, repairing and maintaining forklifts.  Eventually, he started his own mobile maintenance business with customers such as Knudsen’s and RC Cola.  Over the years, A.J. became an avid ham radio operator and model airplane enthusiast.  In 1974, he built an electric car that won a first place trophy at the Sacramento Autorama.

After retiring several times, A.J. and Marie spent time traveling the western states in their RV. Feeling he still had much to contribute, A.J. and Marie started working with the Senior Gleaners, the Sacramento Food Bank and the Stanford Home. Years later, A.J. performed maintenance for Father Dan Madigan at St. Joseph’s Church in Clarksburg.  He and Marie worked side by side until their mid-80s.  In 2001, Marie decided it was time to retire for good and A.J. agreed.  They retired to their home living a peaceful life, with Marie in her garden and A.J. in his shop.  In late 2005, Marie passed away and A.J. continued to live in the home they had shared for more than 50 years.  In the century that he lived, A.J. saw man progress from the horse and buggy to rockets to the moon.  He touched the lives of many people.  A.J is survived by his son Jerry (Joan), his daughter Judy (Victor), five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Graveside services will be performed at 10:00am on Thursday June 29 at the Sylvan Oaks Cemetery.  Donations can be made to the Charity of your choice.

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