Alton Kinsel Jr.

Alton Reason Kinsel Jr. ("Dean" or "Bo")

June 7, 1946 - April 27, 2025

Alton Reason Kinsel Jr., affectionately known as Dean, Bo, Daddy, and Pawpaw, passed away peacefully at his home in Rockport, Texas on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at the age of 78.

Born at home in Palacios, TX on June 7, 1946, as Glen Dean Morish to Mary Aline Duffey and Benjamin Franklin Morish, his early story was one of resilience. He was the youngest of 10 and after the loss of his mother at age 5, Hazel and Alton Kinsel Sr. adopted him and brought him to Rockport to love and raise alongside his sisters Cathy and Carol.

He graduated from Aransas County High School in 1964, where he and his high school sweetheart, Betsy Fields, took home every "Most Likely To..." title available: "Senior Favorites," "Most Athletic," "Mr. & Mrs. ACHS," and even Homecoming King & Queen. He was Captain of the football team, an all-district player, and clearly already winning at life.

He and Nora Elizabeth "Betsy" Fields married on December, 18, 1964 and remained so for 38.5 years until her passing on July 17, 2003. They raised 3 beautiful girls and were pillars of the community, hosted innumerable friends and family for coffee & shoot-the-bull visits at their kitchen table.

We lost count of the number of homemade pies Alton gave away to folks, while Betsy and the girls were making them for holidays, inevitably having to make more. Just a tiny glimpse into how incredibly generous he was. Everyone was always welcome in their home. He coached various softball teams for his daughters. While driving in the pickup, he sang lead while they were the backup singers. He was a family man to his core: affectionate, goofy, devoted, and not above using cow patties for bases in a family baseball game.

His "careers" during this time ranged wildly, with one common thread- he saw a need and created very successful companies to fulfill them, instinctively sensing when it was time to end one venture to start another. He was a consummate entrepreneur...a very shrewd, wise businessman & hard worker.

Bringing his family back to Rockport after working oilfield in Raymondsville, he began shrimping and building boats. He started with the Miss Hazel (his Momma's name), buying the Lady Betty and, best of all, the four shrimp boats named after his granddaughters: The Elizabeth Rene, Jenna Dawn, Meggan Rachelle, & Chelsea Diane (Cayla, the baby, got her name written on a barge in sharpie later on-ha!) He had the Midas touch with shrimping, literally the best there was. Earning himself the nickname "High Roller" and "The Hog".

He went on to be a founding member of the Rockport Co-Op, the Fuel Dock that Betsy ran, Kinsel Trawlers, Kinsel & Pruitt Fabrication (with son in law Mark), Kinsel Inc (boat lifts, docks, decks, piers). Everything was always a family & friend affair, involving son in laws, niece (Wanda), daughters, granddaughters and, of course, Betsy. His truck dashboard doubled as a filing system, with notes scribbled directly into the dash or on a 2x4 chunk of wood. No nonsense. No excuses. No spreadsheets.

"Pawpaw" was the funniest, loving, tender grandfather to all these girls, going on family vacations to New Mexico, Progresso/Weslaco, Big Bend, San Antonio and he and Betsy traveling around the world with best buddies Joe and Janine Stacy.

In his next chapter of life, he married Nancy Piercy in 2004, gaining more son/daughter in laws and step grandchildren to enjoy in retirement. They moved to Woodsboro and went back to his roots of being a cattleman and began hay baling, surrounded by their beloved dogs (Kate in particular) with the help of his sidekick- Danny Dupnik (best buddy). Having us all come out to "help" work the cows at one point or another. Allowing us the experience of cutting cattle on that puny horse he had or the golf cart, jug lining on the Aransas River, shooting skeet and dove hunting...always complete with crazy, funny stories, that legendary laugh, and a good dose of humble pie (for us). He and Nancy loved their baby calves and animals and hosted some awesome Easters at that ranch. Eventually, they moved back to his Daddy's house on Magnolia St in Rockport.

He was survived by wife Nancy Kinsel, three daughters: Charlotte (Mark) Pruitt, Cassandra (Gene) McElveen, and Tracy Kinsel; six granddaughters: Elizabeth (John) Pruitt-Sanchez, Jenna (Blake) McDavid, Meggan & Madison Dominguez, Chelsea (Adam) Skrobarczyk, Cayla (Billy) McDonnel; Great-grandchildren: Lillan & Wyatt Skrobarczyk, Rachelle Powell, Carter Dominguez, Gunner Pruitt, Dean, Bailey, Mark Conley, & Chloe McDavid, Eleanor & Georgina McDonnel; Stepson Ken (Amber) Piercy and stepgrandsons Garrett and Gregory Piercy.

He was brave. He was brilliant. He was charming. He was a pie-stealing, cow-wrangling, daughter-doting legend of a man.

"We lost a good one."

Services will be held at Coastal Oaks Church in Rockport at 2:00 PM on Saturday, May 3, 2025. Visitation begins at noon, service at 2 PM, with reception immediately following and a graveside burial around 5 PM.

To share a story or photo, or to tell us just how much pie you personally received from Alton, please reach out to:

Charlotte - 361-386-0512

Cassandra - 361-205-4495

Tracy - 361-765-6710

Elizabeth - 361-386-0511