Alfred J Desmond

Alfred James Desmond, 96, passed peacefully on Saturday, January 6, 2018 at Brookdale Assisted Living in Pt. Charlotte, FL. His wife of 73 years, Joyce Campbell Desmond, was present. Al was born on September 29, 1921 - the only child of Mary Alida Ingraham and Alfred Desmond of Springfield and East Longmeadow, MA. He married on January 13, 1945 and lived in East Longmeadow until 1980 when he and Joyce moved to Lake Wales, FL.

He is survived by his two daughters, Barbara Bennett of Cape Coral, FL, Donna Desmond Crafts (Tom) of North Port, FL and two grandchildren, Rebecca Lynn Bennett of Wauconda, IL; Matthew Desmond Bennett (Rachel) of Pasadena, CA and former son-in-law, Richard L Bennett of Lehigh, FL. He is also survived by a step granddaughter, Trisha Crafts of Orlando, FL.

Al graduated from Tech High School in 1940 and entered the Marines Corps with training at Hilton Head, SC serving active duty in the 11th Defense Artillery in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. In 2010, at age 89, Al was very privileged to enjoy an Honor Flight trip to DC to visit the various war memorials. Al was the first police officer in East Longmeadow and retired in 1977 as a detective after serving 30 years on the police force. He loved dancing to the Big Band era music, fishing, sports and enjoyed coaching ELRA youth hockey and baseball. He was also very involved in the East Longmeadow Lion's Club including a term as president. He was the attendance officer for the public schools in East Longmeadow. Al will be missed by family and friends for his positive and fun-loving attitude and dedication to family. He was always eager to help others and made friends wherever he went with his outgoing personality.

A gathering of family and friends will be held at Kays-Ponger & Uselton Funeral Home in Punta Gorda, FL on Saturday, January 27th, 2018 from 10:30am to 11am with a memorial service to follow at 11am.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in his memory may be made to the Tidewell Hospice in Pt. Charlotte, FL or to any personally favorite charity.