Alfred C. O'Neal Jr.

1947 - 2022

Alfred C. O'Neal, Jr. passed peacefully from this physical world on February 12, 2022 at Sharp Grossmont Hospital at the age of 74. Al was born on April 10, 1947, in Andalusia, Alabama, the hometown of his parents, Alfred and Caroline. He was the first of four children and the big brother to Carol Ann, Jennie, and Nancy. As a child of a naval aviator, he and his family lived all over the country in his early years and even lived in England for one year when he was 12 years old. This kindled an appreciation for travel and exploration and also created a very tight bond between the siblings. His family settled in San Diego in 1960 where he continued his schooling and graduated from Clairemont High School in 1965. He then attended Mesa College and San Diego State College where he met DeeAnn, his wife of 46 years.
While at San Diego State, he majored in aeronautical engineering and took a part time job at Anthony Pools as a draftsman. This led to his career in designing and building swimming pools for several companies over the years. He later co-founded American Pools and Spectrum Design/Waterscapes and lastly owned Spectrum Pool and Spa, until retiring in 2018.
Al wanted his disabled son Jordan to experience as much of life as he could offer including skiing, traveling, and education. At one point Al even climbed part of Yosemite falls with Jordan on his back. A passion for education was ignited in him as he helped Jordan throughout his school career to an eventual college degree (SDSU 2015). For six months in the 2020/2021 school year, he and DeeAnn home schooled two of his grandchildren, teaching two different grades at once. He was a student and lover of all history and the Constitution and was reading a book on Winston Churchill when he became sick.
Al was active in his community serving several organizations including Alpine Community Church, Alpine Boy Scout Troup 105, and Kiwanis of Alpine. He was a Boy Scout in his youth and was re-acquainted with Scouts when his son, Galen, showed an interest in joining. He was scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troup 105 in Alpine from 1996 until Galen became an Eagle Scout in 2001. An avid lover of the outdoors and nature, he was an amateur astronomer, rock climber, photographer, private pilot, and hiker. One of his greatest achievements in life was that he walked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016 at the age of 69. He hiked from Mexico to Canada for a total of 2650 miles, which took him 6 months. Galen was even able to hike 200 miles with him. He was very proud of his trail name, "Space Cowboy," and told anyone and everyone about "the trail" wherever he went. He was even telling trail stories to the doctors and nurses in his last days in the hospital.
Those who will miss him dearly are his sons Jordan and Galen (Misty), grandchildren Kalista Rose, Gage, and Braedan, sisters Carol Ann (Howell), Jennie (Steven), and Nancy (Russell), nieces Jaclyn Jo, and Shon (Simon) and many other relatives and friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held on April 23, 2022 11:00 AM at Alpine Community Church
Donations may be made to Hillsdale College at https://hillsdale.edu or Alpine Community Church at https://alpineucc.org