George Edward Alexander

George Edward Alexander died in sleep Saturday Morning May 17, 2008, at home in Bloomington Ind. He was born March 7, 1918, in West Lafayette, Ind., son of Harvey B. and Minnie Jones Alexander. He attended Morton School and West Lafayette High School. He attended Purdue University and graduated from The U.S. Navy Midshipmen’s School at Northwestern University in 1939. George married Polly Prentice of West Lafayette in 1941. He wanted to fight “Hitler” but spent most of his Naval career fighting “Tojo.” He served his Naval career on the Destroyer USS Anderson (DD411); convoy duty in the North Atlantic prior to Pearl Harbor, then to the Pacific and virtually every major battle, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Aleutians and Leyte Gulf where the Anderson sustained one of the first Kamikazes hits. Later during action in the Carolinas the Captain and six other crew were killed by enemy fire, George while severely wounded took command and continued the fight. At war’s end, he held the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

Following the war George entered the plywood business, which took the family to Savannah, Ga., Tarboro, N.C., Louisville, Ky., Sarnac Lake, N.Y., Tacoma, Wash., and back to Louisville. In retirement George and Polly pursued one of his great passions, Tennis and its history. He began by teaching tennis at several clubs in Boise, Idaho. He had a strong interest in the history of the game of Lawn Tennis and he and Polly traveled extensively to England and France in his research. He published two books and authored many articles on the subject for several tennis magazines. His other major history interest was the Civil War and particularly Lincoln. He was a past President of The Civil War Historical Society.

George Alexander is survived by wife, Polly, three sons, James, George Jr. and Lindley; seven grandchildren, Greg, Kenneth, Jeffery, Ian, Rachael, Ruth, and John and six great-grandchildren, Elisabeth, Brian, Lauren, Andrew, Katelyn and Connor.

A memorial service will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette, Ind., June 21, 2008, followed by internment in Grandview Cemetery, West Lafayette. A reception will follow in the Purdue University Union Building.

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