- State: Georgia
DURAND – Alexander Francis, 94, of Chattanooga passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 27, 2003. Born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1909, he was one of four boys, and the son of two French immigrants. Al was a Renaissance man. He spoke three languages fluently, French, German and English, was a student of history and politics and learned to cook gourmet meals in the French tradition. He was educated at Ithaca College with a degree in Physical Education. Known by his friends as “Frenchy”, he excelled in gymnastics and fell in love with and married Kathleen Bridget Lowry in 1933. Al started his work life as an English teacher at Hawthorne High School, a position he held for ten years, This experience laid the groundwork for his great ability to communicate and gave him license to correct his children’s punctuation and grammar over his lifetime. As the family grew, Al switched careers and started work in sales at the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co in 1949. His success was noted by General Tire and Rubber Co. who hired him away from Firestone. After a few years in sales with General Tire he was promoted to the position of National Director of Sales Training.
