Sam Alfano

Sam was born on August 5, 1940 in Houston, Texas to Mary Ann (Mangiameli) and Sam J. Alfano, Jr. He grew up in the Cottage Grove neighborhood of Houston. As a child, he created a lot of havoc while his parents and older sister, Marianna, ran the family grocery store on Inker St. He attended elementary and middle school at St. Joseph’s and graduated high school from St. Thomas. Sam then pursued an undergraduate degree at Lamar Tech in Beaumont. It was there that he met the love of his life, Jere Sue Parker of Baytown. They married on September 1, 1961. After that, they each received their undergraduate degrees from University of Houston. Sam then attended South Texas College of Law where he earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence. He was a general practice attorney in Houston until 1978 when he was appointed as a judge of the Municipal Courts of the City of Houston. He served the municipal courts until his retirement in June of 1999.

Sam loved fishing, the Houston Oilers, the Houston Texans and calling into the local sports talk radio shows in order to let the Texans’ organization know how to improve each season. But his lifelong passion was playing the guitar. He first learned to play when he was 17 from a local blues master. He and his band, The Doubters, played at many events in and around Beaumont in the early 1960s. Sam kept his guitar in the trunk of his car all the way into the 2000s, so he could bring it out at parties or family gatherings for impromptu sing-alongs. He was even participating at concerts in his independent living residence until about a year ago.

Sam is preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Mary Ann (Mangiameli) Alfano, his sister, Marianna Messina and his brother in law and lifelong best friend, Joe Messina.

He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Jere Sue Parker Alfano, his son, Victor Alfano and wife, Krissy, his daughter, Kelley and husband, Jimmy Hofmann, grandchildren : Nick Alfano, Jake Alfano (Piper), Samantha Pilkington (Zach), Jamie Robbins (Tanner), Marley Bootz (Jake) and James Hofmann. He also leaves behind 4 and a half great-grandchildren and a niece, 3 nephews and their families.

A visitation with the family will be Friday, July 31, 2026 from 4:00 pm until 5:00 pm with the memorial mass to begin at 5:00 pm at St. Theresa Catholic church, 6622 Haskell Street, Houston, Texas 77007.