David L Alexander

David was born in San Pedro, California and lived for a time in Brooklyn, New York before growing up primarily in Anniston, Alabama, where his father Paul founded what is believed to be the first branch of the USO in 1941.

David served in the Navy as an airman on the USS Saratoga before returning to school and graduating from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. He then obtained his Masters of Social Work from Western Reserve College (now Case Western University) in Cleveland, Ohio.

It was at Western Reserve that David met Janet L Canary, a fellow graduate student. David and Janet married in August 1962. After graduation, they moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they lived together in the same West Nashville home for 59 years.

David and Janet had two sons, Paul and Mark. David was a loving father who instilled a lifelong love of nature in his boys during regular camping trips around the state of Tennessee and nearby states.

David worked in social work for many years with the United Way of Greater Nashville before concluding his career with the Tennessee Department of Education.

David was a man of many diverse interests, enjoying gardening, backpacking, photography, among other hobbies. He was an avid golfer whose home office desk was decorated with a record of his five holes-in-one over the years. With the help of good friends, he built a cabin on land he purchased in Dickson County, Tennessee, where he enjoyed regular visits for 40 years.

David was predeceased by his wife Janet, his parents Paul and Genetha, his brother Paul and his brother in spirit Homer, and is survived by his sons Paul and Mark, his grandchildren Genetha and Michael, his twin sister Nancy and many nieces and nephews. He will be missed by many.

An interment service will be held for David on April 8, 2022 at 2:00pm at the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.

Memorial donations in memory of David can be made to the United Way of Greater Nashville or the Nature Conservancy.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.marshalldonnellycombs.com for the Alexander family.