Albert Sidney Haley, Jr.

Albert Sidney Haley, Jr., age 93, passed away in Spring, Texas on August 20, 2018. Although Sid was blinded by glaucoma and had been in declining health for some time, he tenaciously held onto life and those he loved as he had throughout his life.

Sid was born on June 19, 1925, in the front room of a farmhouse in Jones, Oklahoma to Albert and Pauline Haley. In 1943 he graduated with a high school class of eight and set aside his draft deferment to join the U.S. Army. He arrived at Omaha beach one month after D-Day as a 19-year old and served in an 81mm mortar unit in the 80th Infantry Division of George Patton’s Third Army in France, Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Twice he received the Purple Heart for combat wounds. He also received two Bronze Stars; one was for heroism he exhibited under enemy fire when he carried a wounded comrade to safety while he himself was wounded. Like so many of his generation, Sid’s entire life was influenced by his wartime experience.

After the war, Sid attended Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) on the GI Bill, earning a business degree. In 1952, he married Marcella Dean Hosler. They raised three sons and remained deeply devoted to each other through all of life’s ups, downs, and adventures during 53 years of marriage until Marcella’s passing in 2005. Sid enjoyed a 38-year career in the oil business with Amoco. During his working years, he lived and worked in Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Alaska, and Texas and was able to travel all over the world; visiting such places as the UK, Egypt, Iran, China, and Brazil. Sid retired in 1989 as Amoco’s Houston Purchasing Manager and was subsequently a fixture at the semi-annual Amoco retiree barbeques, where he would reminisce about his time in the “oil biz”.

Sid was an avid skier who took up the sport in Alaska after being challenged to learn to ski by his three sons. Even after he had lost much of his eyesight, he could still be found every spring on the slopes of Breckenridge, Colorado skiing until the lifts closed. After he retired, Sid and Marcella continued to travel the world. Sid was active in the 80th Division Veterans Association and served on its Executive Council. In 1995, he flew to Weimar, Germany to be honored along with other veterans who fifty years earlier participated in the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. In 2017, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor for his service to France in World War II. He was a member of Bammel Church of Christ and hardly ever missed a Sunday morning service, even up to the day before his passing.

Sid is survived by his three sons and their wives, Albert III and Joyce of Abilene, Texas; John Curry and Cindy of Spring, Texas; and Keith and Anna of Chugiak, Alaska; along with three grandsons (Michael, John, and Coleman) and three great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his three sisters: Jane Yarbrough, Norma and husband Walt Miller, and Eileen and husband O’Dell Monger. The family would like to give special thanks to the caregivers at Sid’s personal care home, Loving Care Cottages, where he lived during the final stage of his life.

The family requests that memorials in Sid’s name be directed to 80th Division Veterans Association (5101 Hurop Road, Sandston VA 23150) or The Glaucoma Foundation (80 Maiden Lane, Suite 700, New York, NY 10038).