Alfred Petty
November 25, 1926 - March 21, 2013
Obituary
Alfred Petty passed peacefully on March 21, 2013, at the age of 86. He was born in Asheville, North Carolina on November 25, 1926. Alfred was the eldest of two sons born to Julia Hattie Petty and Herman Wakefield Petty, both who preceded him in death. Alfred’s beloved brother, Wilbert Cornelius Petty, also preceded him in death. In 1932, the Petty Family relocated to Washington DC. Alfred attended Armstrong Technical High School. Thereafter, he was accepted into the Engineering and Architecture schools of Howard University, Ohio State University and MIT. When he asked his mother which university he should attend, she made it clear that he would be staying right there in Washington DC and attending Howard University thank you. Alfred graduated from Howard University in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.
As a Second Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Infantry, Alfred served in Korea where he worked with the Army Corps of Engineers erecting and dismantling strategic supply route bridges. He was subsequently stationed out of Ft. Lewis in 1952 where he met his wife Delores Carr who lived in Tacoma, Washington with her Aunt Sue Harris. He retired from the Army as a Lt. Colonel on November 25, 1986.
After his service, Alfred was one of the first African Americans to be employed by the Boeing Company as a Civil Engineer. While working full-time, Alfred decided to go back to school, earning a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Washington. He also received the Sloane Fellowship Award from the Boeing Company and completed the program for Urban Executives at MIT. In 1972, Mayor Wes Uhlman appointed him as Superintendent of Buildings for the City of Seattle. Mr. Petty, along with Walter Hundley, was one of the first African Americans to hold the position of Superintendent of a City Department.
Mr. Petty served in this capacity for eight years, during which he approved the construction plans for many of Seattle’s iconic architectural landmarks, including the Kingdome, the Rainier Tower and the restoration of the Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. After his tenure as Superintendent, he returned to his position at Boeing. Mr. Petty retired from Boeing after 40 years with the Company. He continued his involvement with the Boeing Company as a consultant.
Mr. Petty was an active Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity member who was made in the Beta chapter at Howard University. He was also a charter member of the Zeta Pi Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha in the city of Seattle. Pledges could be seen tending to Mr. Petty’s lawn and shrubbery from time to time, as he held the position of Dean of Pledges.
Mr. Petty was an active member of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church for nearly 60 years, where he served in many capacities.
Mr. Petty was a long time member of the Seattle Rotary Service Foundation and the Washington Athletic Club. He was an avid sports fan and an original season ticket-holder for the Seattle Supersonics and the Seahawks. He also enjoyed his season tickets for Washington Husky football and rarely missed a home game.
Alfred was a mentor, father figure and friend to many in his lifetime. He was a devoted husband, father, son, uncle, grandfather and friend. He will be greatly missed.
Mr. Petty is survived by his loving wife of 63 years Delores; by his sons Philip and Hasan; daughters, Pamela and Linda;daughter-in-law, Kimberly; grandchildren Aquila, Muhammad, Jerome, Kiki, Lawrence, and Shelley; great-grandchildren Sarah, Kimora, and Miles; sister Janice and other relatives and friends.
We will deeply miss Al. Our sympathies are with your family. He was a true friend for more than 30 years.
Our hearts go out to you in this time of great sorrow. Prayers are with you and your family.
My thoughts and prayers to all of you for your loss. May all your wonderful memories help ease your pain and one day turn your tears of sorrow into tears of laughter as you remember this wonderful man…
I was fortunate to have Al as an engineering colleague in the late 1980’s. He was always very pleasant to work with even when some of the problems were difficult. Please accept my deepest sympathy.
For many many years our family sat with Al and Carl at the Husky games. He was there for us after the loss of our parents, Nancy and Gene Gollihur and shared with us the privilege of cheering on the dawgs as we daughters took over the seats. He had a wonderful sense of humor and he and my late husband shared many a joke. We all will miss him and will long remember the wonderful voice of Delores as she sang the national anthem.
We send our love to the family.
Jan Hamilton, Susan Linder and Judy Carpenter.
Kimberly and family,
Your “father” sounds like an incredible man, I wish that I had met him. He will be missed but lives on in many of you.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
Micki & Larry Christensen
You and your family have my sincerest sympathy. Take care of yourselves in this difficult time.
Love you.
My sympathy to the family of Allan. I sure will miss him. I always enjoyed my little chats with Allan. When ever we were both outside we always at least greeted each other.
What a blessing for the Petty family to have such an outstanding man raise them, lead them and set an example of what dignity, grace and hard work looks like. God Bless each of you! Our prayers are with you.
The Lathan’s
To Philip,
I extend my deepest and sincerest condolences to you and other family members.
What an extraordinary man and an extraordinary career……and a life well-lived. My condolences for your loss.
John
We send our deepest sympathy to Alfred Petty’s dear family. We knew Al through our father, one of his close friends; we had many entertaining lunches and dinners with Al, his lovely wife and the ROMEOs (Retire Old Men Eating Out)–it was an honor to be included occasionally in that august bunch’s get-togethers. The Pettys were a beautiful, exemplary couple. Alfred Petty is an American Treasure. Al, his wife and children are in our prayers this Easter.
My deepest sympathy to Pam, Linda and the entire family. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
So sorry to learn of your loss. Mr. Petty was a noble man to be admired for all times.Keeping you in my prayers.
I just learned of Al’s passing.
Al and I worked at Boeing together. I did administrative work and worked right outside Al’s office in Renton. He was a great mentor who helped me with my college math. What a dear man and friend. I’ve thought of him often and miss him greatly. So very sorry for your loss. Al was one of a kind. Xo