Kerry was born on November 13, 1929, in Russellville, Arkansas. He was preceded in death by his wife, Doris Crowder McAlister, his parents, Kerry McAlister and Ruby Moon McAlister, and his brother, Stephen McAlister. He is survived by son Randall McAlister and wife Lynne of Round Rock, Texas and their children Holly Swift, Kerry McAlister and wife Julie, Ryan McAlister, Sean Adams and wife Carla, Sage and Ian Adams; daughter Jane Ann McAlister Pence and husband Terry of New Braunfels, Texas and their children Kate Pence Malo and husband Sam, and Jeffrey Pence; one great-grandson Zehn Cadena; and many nieces and nephews.
Kerry lived a long, fun and adventure-filled life. He graduated from Russellville High School in 1947 and after a brief stay at Arkansas Tech, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. After completing machinist tech school in Illinois, he was sent to Fairbanks, Alaska. He spent 28 months in Alaska and traveled extensively throughout the state repairing tracked vehicles. Some of these destinations were Pt. Barrow, Nome, St. Lawrence Island, and Yakutat. In 1951, he rotated from Alaska to Holloman AFB in New Mexico and began working on cruise missiles and ground to air missiles. He loved his time there. In 1951, he married his wife of 63 years, Doris Crowder of Adona, Arkansas. In 1952, he was assigned to the Far East and eventually to Kimpo Air Base in Korea. He was there for 10 months in aircraft maintenance for the 67th Photo Recon Wing and the 77th Fighter-Bomber Squadron from Australia. After almost 6 years in the Air Force, he took an early Honorable Discharge and headed back to the US. In January of 1954, he began working for Williams - Stackhouse Mapping Company in San Antonio, Texas. This would mark the beginning of an important chapter of his life. He worked at various mapping companies until he was hired in June of 1962 by the Texas Highway Department in Austin. He began working in the Aerial Mapping Section of D-19. This division produced maps from aerial photography. He ended his long career with the Highway Department as Director of Photogrammetry. He retired in June of
1985 and then continued creating aerial maps at his own company, McAlister Aerial Surveys, until he sold the business in 2001.
Throughout all of this, Kerry and Doris raised two children and spent much of their spare time playing golf all over the United States. They enjoyed watching their grandchildren participate in sports of all kinds. He
was a proud member of the United Methodist Church. In recent years, he has attended and served on the board for the Church at The Conservatory, his place of residence. He loved to watch golf, play dominoes, and was an avid reader. He especially loved the Texas Longhorns and watching football. He treasured the experience of traveling to Washington D.C. to visit war monuments in May of 2015 with Honor Flight Austin for Korean War Veterans. He called this the “Trip of A Lifetime.”
Kerry was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend. He will leave a void in our lives, but the special memories of him will never go away. The family will receive friends from 10:00 to 11:00 am on Monday, October 15, 2018, with funeral services beginning at 11:00 pm at Cook-Walden Capital Parks Funeral Home, 14501 North IH 35, Pflugerville, Texas. Committal services will follow at Cook-Walden Memorial Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to UMCOR-United Methodist Committee on Relief or Memorial United Methodist Church of Austin, Texas. Please visit Kerry’s memorial webpage at www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com for more information.
