Alfred Ernest Naylor

Born in Amarillo in 1928 to Ernest Tippet Naylor and Josephine Chambers, Alfred Ernest Naylor passed away in Cedar Park Texas on Tuesday April 22, 2025, at the age of 96. Alfred is preceded in death by his wife Grace Naylor and survived by sons David and Scott Naylor, their wives Cecilia and Ashliegh Naylor and grandson Jareck Naylor and his wife Kristen.

Alfred grew up moving from place to place with his younger brother eventually residing in Chadron Nebraska where his father "E.T." worked for a manufacturing company producing and selling pressure vessels and tanks.

From age 13 throughout his teenage years, Alfred would return East of Amarillo to work part time on a family member’s wheat farm in Conway. The farm consisted of roughly 2 square miles, a single story, 3 bedroom house, carbide lighting, a water well, and an outhouse. From spring harvest to fall planting, Alfred plowed and planted the fields on a tractor with a pull behind combine and occasionally milked a half dozen cows.

After graduating Chadron high school, Alfred returned to the farm to work full time while the rest of the family moved back to Amarillo. The full-time farm job allowed Alfred to save enough money to train at the Tradewinds airport in Amarillo where he used an uncle’s single engine, a 3-person plane to obtain his pilot’s license. Eventually, Alfred’s hard work from various jobs, including photography, allowed him to save enough money to move to Austin in 1952 at the age of 24 to attend the College of Engineering at the University of Texas.

After completing his first full year of college, Alfred was drafted into the Korean War in September 1953 and attended Army basic training at Camp Chaffee Arkansas. As part of his training, Alfred was required, as all cadets were, to take an aptitude test. With a score eclipsing the battalion’s best, Alfred was quickly informed that the Army had far more important things for him to do than march around with a rifle. Taking solace in duty reassignment as an electronics technician working indoors, Alfred watched his former squad march tirelessly with rifles in hand through the winter snow. Alfred was forever grateful that math smarts had paid off as he didn’t care much about being cold and miserable outdoors.

After basic training, Alfred was stationed at a 22-bed hospital located on the Eniwetok Atoll Islands where he repaired medical equipment, communication systems, and other electronics. Alfred was honorably discharged in September 1955, after 2 years of service, just in time to return to Austin to start his 2nd year at the College of Engineering. Alfred, joined by his brother, and another friend lived in an apartment adjacent to the UT football stadium, which is now the location of the LBJ Presidential Library. Alfred’s close proximity to campus and his photography experience allowed him to obtain a job as a darkroom technician, working on the Littlefield Campus, Division of Extension. An avid football fan, Alfred furthered his photography skills in 1956 by landing a job loading film and filming UT football games. Alfred then met the newly hired football coach Darrell K. Royal, today’s UT stadium namesake, and provided him with play by play, black and white, audio free game day footage through the 1957 season.

Upon graduating in the Spring of 1958 with a degree in electrical engineering, Alfred started his career at Gulf States Utilities in Beaumont. While at GSU Alfred met Grace, the love of his life, who worked as a telephone switchboard operator. Once married, company policy at the time prohibited spouses from working together, thus Grace submitted her resignation to become the Chief Family Officer of the house.

Alfred worked his way up the ranks of GSU, eventually becoming a Vice President in charge of power distribution throughout east / southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana. All the while, he graciously provided for his family and taught his boys to be self-sufficient men across a multitude of fronts. Upon retiring from GSU in 1990, Alfred and Grace traveled extensively for numerous years before relocating permanently to the Toledo Bend Reservoir near Hemphill in 2006 to enjoy their golden years.

There are many stories, life lessons, and memories Alfred’s sons could tell about their father: deer hunting in the south, fishing, running trotlines and seine nets in the east lakes, or perhaps repairing car engines, swinging a hammer the right way, running a saw while keeping all your fingers attached, and pouring concrete with the right slump. From water skiing to hitting their first baseball, BBQing in preparation for a weekend of family fun, or teaching them how to ride a motorcycle by holding the bike behind them while running down the driveway, eventually letting go, allowing them to ride on their own for the first time. Now

it’s time to let Alfred go so that he may pass through the pearly gates of heaven to be with his lord and savior Jesus Christ. With that said,

Goodbye Dad, love you, miss you,

Your sons forever.