Mr. Alvin H. Wardlaw's Obituary
Alvin Holmes Wardlaw was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 3, 1925, to Charles Hamilton Wardlaw and Mary James Wardlaw. He and his twin brother, Albert Nixon Wardlaw, were the last of six children who grew up in the historic Black neighborhood surrounding the Atlanta University Center. The Wardlaw children lived in the family home built by their father at 825 Fair Street, directly across the street from Morehouse College. As a child, Alvin learned to work hard from his father, who was among the first faculty at Morehouse, while simultaneously maintaining two farms outside Atlanta. The twins would travel to the farm where they farmed the crops and cared for livestock. Every morning, at home, Alvin’s job was to take the family milk cow, Buttercup, across the street to the Morehouse campus to graze on the grounds of the football field. The twins had paper routes, and Alvin learned to drive his father’s truck at age 11. The Wardlaw family attended Friendship Baptist Church where their father was a deacon. The children of the family grew up with a strong Christian foundation and understood the value of service to others. These spiritual values became fundamental characteristics of Alvin Wardlaw’s personality.
Alvin and his twin brother attended Laboratory High School on the campus of Atlanta University. In 1942 they entered Morehouse College as freshmen. Morehouse was a deep tradition within the Wardlaw family. The patriarch, Charles Hamilton Wardlaw, graduated from the school when it was known as Atlanta Baptist Seminary and then taught biology, geology, and carpentry at Morehouse. Alvin’s older brothers, Charles and Tapley, were also Morehouse graduates. Soon after beginning his studies at Morehouse, Alvin met the beautiful Clark College coed, Virginia Cage from Birmingham, Alabama and thus began a courtship which would become a lifelong bond. Alvin and Virginia married December 13, 1943, as the rumblings of war swept across the country.
Alvin’s education was interrupted at age 19 when he and his twin brother were drafted and inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II. The Twins served in Marseilles, France, then went to the Philippines for training before being deployed to Yokohama in 1946. As first sergeant, he was in command of motor transportation and in that position commanded a fleet of trucks, often through enemy territory, to provide goods for his company. Wardlaw also qualified as a Rifle Sharpshooter and Carbine Expert. He was discharged on May 6, 1946, at Ft. McPherson, Georgia having been awarded the African Middle Eastern Service Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, as well as the World War II Victory Medal. Returning to Atlanta he completed his studies at Morehouse where he was awarded a degree in mathematics in 1948. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a classmate and friend of the twins. After graduation from Morehouse, Alvin studied mathematics at Atlanta University where he obtained a master’s degree. From Atlanta University he moved with his family to Ann Arbor, Michigan to pursue graduate work in mathematics at the University of Michigan.
While at Michigan, Mr. Wardlaw was contacted by his former professor at Atlanta University, Dr. Joseph A. Pierce, then an administrator at Texas State University for Negroes, encouraging him to come to Houston to teach mathematics at the newly formed HBCU, previously known as Houston College for Negroes. Alvin and his family, along with his friend and fellow graduate at Michigan, John E. Westberry, moved to Houston to become the first chair of the mathematics department in 1949. Alvin was a part of the major wave of Black educators who came from across the country to begin to serve as faculty and staff at this recently expanded HBCU. The talents provided by these pioneers in higher education made an enormous difference in the Third Ward community and the campus provided a source of enrichment for not only the students and faculty but the entire community.
From 1949 until his final retirement in 2011, Alvin Wardlaw served under every president at Texas Southern from R. O’Hara Lanier to John Rudley. During his tenure of over sixty-six years of service, he held the positions of Department Chair, Mathematics; Veterans Liaison; Director, Upward Bound; Budget Director for Academic Affairs, and Special Assistant to the President. As Veterans Liaison, he created a special bridge program for returning veterans and worked with them as they re-entered civilian life. As a veteran himself, Alvin had a special rapport with these men and women, and several of them worked for him after graduating from TSU. As Director of Upward Bound, Alvin mentored and counseled legions of high school students who were able to successfully achieve admission into colleges throughout the country. Many of these Upward Bounders kept in touch with Alvin over the course of their adult lives.
Alvin was known as an effective Budget Director for Academic Affairs who worked closely with Department Chairs, administrators of special programs and initiatives and other university leaders to ensure that fiscal matters were managed efficiently and productively. He had the reputation of being a problem solver and one who would go the extra mile to walk down the hall or across campus to reach a positive solution to a challenge. As Special Assistant to the President, Alvin’s flexibility, his institutional knowledge, and his broad connections throughout the community made him an impactful resource for the presidents he served. Over the course of his time at TSU, Alvin H. Wardlaw mentored countless students and young staff members, and maintained an open-door policy for all faculty, staff, and students. His office was decorated with the many gifts brought to him by international students from across the globe.
Alvin was a devoted husband and father. He and his beloved wife, “Ginny,” were both educators and together they created a loving and naturing home for their daughters, Alvia Jean and Joy, to learn, explore and thrive. Their home was open to friends of all ages and backgrounds. The family had dinner together every night, and their discussions ranged from their individual experiences of the day to world news topics. It was at this same kitchen table that Alvin tutored children in the community in math.
In 1962, Alvin completed his candidacy for the Catholic faith and converted to Catholicism. He became an active member of St. Mary’s Church and with Alan Bergeron served for many years on the Bazaar’s Finance Committee, and he and Ginny, Virginia, were founding members of the St. Mary’s Credit Union. In the community, he was a member of the Ebony Opera Guild Board for many years. He was a member of Alpha Rho Chapter Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and honored by the Houston Morehouse Alumni Club with establishment of the Alvin Wardlaw Mentorship Award. After his retirement, he became an active member of the Volunteer Circle for the University Museum at Texas Southern where he enjoyed working on numerous exhibitions and meeting the artists, as well as a member of SHAPE Community Center’s Elders Institute of Wisdom.
Alvin H. Wardlaw was, at 98 yrs., the loving patriarch of his family. He leaves behind his two daughters, Alvia Jean Wardlaw and Joy Wardlaw Fitzgerald (Darrell); grandsons, Mani Jasiri Short and Ryan Adrian Fitzgerald; great granddaughter Nela Sinclair Short; nieces and nephews Earlene Cruse; Lydia Wardlaw Brown; Marcile Wardlaw; James Tapley Wardlaw II (Holly); Albert Earl Wardlaw (Bonnie); Vincent Cruse (Charlotte); and Alvin Cruse, extended family and friends.
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