Alton Lee Vann

OCTOBER 24, 1942, TO SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

ON OCTOBER 24, 1942, A BEAUTIFUL THING HAPPENED TO LUCY MAE AND EDWARD SCOTT; A BABY BOY WAS BORN TO THEM IN SLEEPY HOLE, VIRGINIA. THIS GLORIOUS BABY BOY WAS NAMED ALTON LEE VANN, CALLED BABY AL. BABY AL WAS BORN AND NURTURED SURROUNDED BY A HAPPY, FUN-FILLED FAMILY IN PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, WHERE BABY AL ATTENDED ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL. BABY AL FELL IN LOVE WITH PLAYING BASKETBALL, SO AL ASKED HIS MOTHER, LUCY, WHETHER HE COULD ATTEND CRESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL IN NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, WHERE THEY HAD AN EXCELLENT BASKETBALL TEAM. AL WAS PERMITTED TO ATTEND CRESTWOOD HIGH IN NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, WHERE AL EARNED A SPOT ON THE OUTSTANDING CRESTWOOD HIGH BASKETBALL TEAM. AL EXCELLED ON THE BASKETBALL TEAM, AND LED CRESTWOOD'S BASKETBALL TEAM IN 1960, TO WIN THE EASTERN DISTRICT TITLE FOR THE VIRGINIA INTERSCHOLASTIC ASSOCIATION, AND IN 1962, CRESTWOOD'S TEAM WON THE STATE VIA TITLE. AL BECAME AN ALL-STATE BASKETBALL STAR.

AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, AL ATTENDED KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY AND TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY IN HOUSTON, TEXAS. IN 1964, AFTER COLLEGE, AL JOINED THE AIR FORCE DURING THE VIET NAM ERA, WHERE HE WAS STATIONED IN MADISON, WISCONSIN. WHILE IN THE AIR FORCE, IN 1965, IN MADISON, WISCONSIN, AL MET AND MARRIED DIANE PATRICIA HILL, THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE, HIS WIFE, HIS BEST FRIEND, HIS SOULMATE FOR LIFE AND EVER AFTER. AFTER MARRIAGE, AL AND DIANE MOVED TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AND THEN TO MARYLAND, WHERE THEY HAD FIVE PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, STEPHANIE SUZANNE JOHNNIE VANN COX, TWINS ALTON LEE, JR., AND TRACEY LEE, LASHEA LEE VANN, AND SUNSHINE LOUISE VANN. AL AND DIANE'S BEAUTIFUL, PRECIOUS TWINS WERE BORN PREMATURE AND DID NOT SURVIVE. NOW ALTON, JR. AND TRACEY ARE FINALLY WITH THEIR LOVING DADDY.

ALTON LEE VANN IS SURVIVED BY HIS MOTHER, SADDENED LUCY MAE MACK, HIS HEARTBROKEN WIFE OF NEARLY 57 YEARS, DIANE HILL VANN, ESQ., HIS LOVING THREE DAUGHTERS, STEPHANIE, AND HER HUSBAND WILSON, LASHEA, AND SUNSHINE, AL'S PRECIOUS GRANDCHILDREN, TAYLOR COX, BRITTNEY COX, AND WILSON COX, JR., AND ALL OF AL'S COUSINS AND MANY FAMILY MEMBERS, AND, ALSO, AL'S VERY SPECIAL FRIENDS--ALL OF HIS WONDERFUL NEIGHBORS WHO HAVE TAKEN CARE OF AL AND HIS FAMILY, IN MARYLAND. IN MARYLAND, AL VANN WAS KNOWN TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS AS TONY VANN, A NAME AL GAVE TO HIMSELF TO IMPRESS HIS FUTURE WIFE, DIANE--THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE, AND AL THE LOVE OF DIANE'S LIFE FOREVER MORE.