Alan Charles Massey, age 72, of Corvallis (formerly of Douglasville, Georgia) passed away Thursday, November 22, 2018 at Discovery Care Centre in Hamilton. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Massey was born June 7, 1946. He was the son of the late Charles Warren and Bernice Jones Massey.
Alan retired from Bellsouth/AT&T after 45 years. He started as lineman and worked his way into contract management. Alan was well known for his natural engineering and mechanical abilities which served him well whether solving problems at the top of a phone pole or drawing blueprints for a new project.
These gifts appeared early in life when he would design and build his own race cars. Alan was an avid racing fan, but his favorite was drag racing. He was always more than happy to discuss the intricacies and strategies of racing.
In the late 1960s, Alan was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam Conflict. After a knee injury caused an early departure from Airborne School, Alan attended Signal Corp School where he graduated at the top of his class. He was subsequently recruited by the White House Communications Agency and he spent his tour participating in clandestine communications activities around the globe.
This included several trips “in country”(Vietnam). Alan worked under both President Johnson and President Nixon. After an honorable discharge from the military, Alan returned to the phone company (Southern Bell) to continue his career.
Alan was an American patriot to his core and spent his later years involved with various veterans groups. Alan was also a skilled outdoorsman. A lifelong hunter and fisherman, he began honing these skills early in life in the Boy Scouts.
Alan earned the rank of Eagle Scout and would later, as an adult leader, earn the level of Brotherhood in the Order of the Arrow. He served as Pack Master and Scout Master (and Little League coach) where he would influence the lives of numerous young men. In 2015, Alan moved to Montana to fulfill a lifelong dream of living out West.
There he enjoyed the mountains, watching the various types of wildlife in the area and the lack of traffic associated with rural living. Alan is survived by his wife Sherry of Corvallis; two sons and daughters-in-law, Chuck and Kristin of Villa Rica, GA, Brad and Heather of Douglasville, GA; four grandchildren, Shelby and C.J. Massey, Madison and Nicholas Massey; one sister and brother-in-law, Gladys and Ron Cochran of Americus, GA. Alan will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at Grantsdale Cemetery in Hamilton, Montana.
At Alan’s request, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Corvallis American Legion Post 91 where he was an active member.
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