Dave Alexander ’62

Parker Wayland '59

November 2006
1) Why did you join?
As a NROTC Midshipman, I was impressed by seniors Gene Cernan (later an astronaut who went to the moon) and Joe Showalter. There were several Fiji pledges in my NROTC classes, and they all seemed like nice, sharp guys. I had to ask to be invited to the house as a rushee, but the invitation was quickly forthcoming and I was even more impressed when I met the rest of the guys.

2) Tell us about your favorite memory of the fraternity.
There are so many, but perhaps the best story is the night Dick Marshall and I double-dated by taking our gals to a movie in Lafayette. This was about 1958, but Dick's car was a bright red(1929?)Ford Model A roadster. Dick and his date were in the cab while my date and I were in the rumble seat. As we were coming up the Levee Hill on the way back, the car started slowing down, the engine racing, and finally we were moving backward down the hill. It seems the bands of the transmission were slipping and totally failed. We wound up walking our dates back home, but the adventure far outweighed any inconvenience.

3) What kind of influence has the fraternity had on your life since graduation? The biggest influences were the improved confidence and social graces (hospitality, fellowship, etc.) that became a part of me in those years.

4) With whom do you still stay in contact? Who would you most like to find? Our class of 1959 meets regularly every five years, and I make it a point to be there. Our 50th is coming up. Since my Tennessee home is not near any of the brothers, I seldom see them except at those times.

5) Tell us about your family: Have you married? Do you have children? I met my wife Betsy when she was a student at Connecticut College for Women, New London, and we were married in 1963. We have four grown children, Becky, Hank, Kent and Judi, and four grandchildren, Kiran and Nikhil (Hank) and Alex and Erica (Kent).

6) What other activities or organizations were you involved with during your college days? The Office of Student Services was my primary activity. That led to a place on the Student Senate my senior year. I was also a member of Gimlet and Iron Key.

7) Did you live in the house? If so, who were your roommates? Tell us about a memorable time with them. My junior year I roomed with Dick Reed, '58. Dick had the campus concession for distribution of sample cigarettes for Winston, and there were always many boxes of sample cigarettes in the corner of the room. I had just been experimenting with smoking, and I got thoroughly hooked that year. Winston certainly came out in the black on that deal. (I finally did quit about 20 years ago.)

8) What do you do for a living?
I retired in '04. I served 7 years in the Navy, including 4 years on USS Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine. When I left active duty in 1966, I moved to Tennessee to do process development work in the AEC/Department of Energy weapons plant in Oak Ridge. I stayed in the Naval Reserve and retired as a Captain in 1989. At the plant I later did procurement and engineering project management work.

9) What affiliations do you currently have and/or public service do you participate in?
I am active in Beaver Ridge United Methodist Church and in Aldersgate Renewal Ministries (ARM), an affiliate organization of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship.

10) What hobbies do you enjoy?
I enjoy being part of ARM local church ministry teams that do weekend "Lay Witness Missions" and "Life in the Spirit Seminars". Since 1997 I have been going on evangelistic mission trips to Ghana and Nigeria to preach crusades and plant new churches. Recently I have also done teaching missions to Tanzania, Slovakia, Russia and Brazil. (The picture was taken in Kemerovo, Siberia, Russian Federation.)

11) What are your goals for the next few years?
Assuming the invitations continue to come, I expect to be doing foreign mission work as indicated above. At other times, enjoy my wife and my grandchildren. Life is GOOD.