Wendell Bryan "Bud" Alexander Jr

July 12, 1929 - January 23, 2026
Cupertino, California

Graveside Service: Friday, January 30, 2026, 11:00 AM
Interment: Madronia Cemetery, Saratoga, CA

On January 23, 2026 Wendell Bryan ("Bud") Alexander, Jr. passed into the arms of his Savior Jesus Christ. Born on July 12, 1929 in Cincinnati, Ohio to his parents Wendell Bryan Alexander, Sr. and Alma Powell Alexander. Soon after he was born, the family moved to his mother's home state, settling in Hampton, Virginia. A bright child, Bud (who was an only child) had early academic successes. At the age of 14 his teachers gave him tests and the results were that he scored better than some of the teachers! Heeding the teachers' advice to his parents, at age 15 Bud Alexander traveled alone by train to the University of Chicago, where he finished high school and attended college.

In 1947 at the age of 18, Bud put his college education on hold to serve two years in the U.S. Army. For those two years he was part of the army of occupation in Germany, helping Europe recover from World War II through the Marshall Plan.

After the army, he returned to the University of Chicago and obtained his Masters of Business Administration. Moving to Charlotte, North Carolina for work, he began attending the Covenant Presbyterian Church and its young adults group. There he met the love of his life, Carolyn Griffin. They married on October 1, 1955. Bud worked as a salesman for various companies while Carolyn worked as a legal secretary. They planned to enjoy several years of marriage before having children. But they forgot to consult their son Craig who was born in October 1956!

Moving to Atlanta, Georgia for work, they welcomed their "Georgia Peach" Adele on March 15, 1959. The Alexander family would move back to Charlotte, then to New Jersey, and finally to Cupertino, California for Bud's work with IBM. Working for IBM as a salesman he was a consistent member of IBM's Golden Circle Club for outstanding sales and service. During the last years of his time with IBM, he was in marketing research, traveling all over the world for IBM including Australia, a trip he doubly enjoyed with Carolyn as his traveling companion.

After retiring, he and Carolyn enjoyed world travel with family and friends, including a trip to Israel in 2000 with his children Adele and Craig and Craig's wife Pam. Besides travel, Bud also served on several non-profit boards such as the Crisis Pregnancy Center (now RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics) in the San Francisco Bay area and did volunteer work for several organizations, including his church.

Bud choose to become a member of the Presbyterian Church at the age of 12. He served in various Presbyterian Churches, and later the Federated Church in Saratoga as a deacon and elder, and sang the choir. He also regularly attended Men's Bible Studies. His favorite hymn is How Great Thou Art.

Bud is survived by his wife Carolyn, his son Craig and his wife Pam, his daughter Adele Fowler and her husband Duane Fowler, along with his granddaughter Julia McDaid and her husband Scott McDaid, his great-grandson Wesley, and great-granddaughter Violet.