Alvin "Al" Sparks of Richmond went home to the Lord on January 15, 2024 at age 89.

Al was born to Glenn and Goldie Sparks on January 16, 1934 in Huntington, Indiana. He farmed with his dad while growing up and that was where his love of tractors began. He learned how to make candy from his mom and made the best peanut butter fudge. In 1954, he joined the National Guard and was faithful in his service as an Artillery Sergeant until 1960.

He met his first wife, Violet Wisener, on a blind date and her father chose Al to marry her. They went on to have three children together, Pam, Tammy, and Chris. They were married for 61 years until Violet's passing in 2015. As a young family, they took annual vacations to Arkansas where they shared many wonderful family memories.

Al was blessed to find love again. Al and Shirley Fields were long time friends and shared their faith in the Lord. They attended the same church many years ago. After rekindling their friendship and admiration for one another, they married in October 2020.

In 1979, he began his professional career at Allison Gas Turbine. While working for Allison, he engineered an innovative way to save the company money by reusing the tools he ground. He received an achievement award from Allison along with a bonus for his innovation. Al enjoyed his career and in fact knew the specs on just about any make and model of vehicle, all the way down to the smallest of details, such as how many gallons of windshield wiper fluid a tank could hold. Allison was sold to General Motors, then to Rolls Royce. Al retired from Rolls Royce at age 65. He was also entrepreneurial, owning a professional cleaning and lawn care business while working his full time job.

He was mathematically proficient and was handy with tools, namely Craftsman. He loved a day of shopping in the Sears tool department. Al's intellect also led him to several hobbies that included, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, Sudoku and keeping up on the latest vehicle models in Car & Driver and Motor Trend Magazines.

Even though Al had an engineering mind, he found joy in the simple things of life like Heinz ketchup. He put ketchup on his ketchup. He loved having a bowl of ice cream right before bed and was disappointed when Dairy Queen stopped serving butterscotch milkshakes. He was also a big fan of Hershey's chocolate bars. His love for ice cream, ketchup, chocolate and cheese has been passed down to his children and grandchildren.

He had many admiring qualities, including being kind, honest, loving and gentle. Al was a loyal servant of the Lord, first and foremost. He loved the gospel and loved sharing the love and warmth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, with as many people as possible; but he never forced his beliefs on anyone. That wasn't necessary as he was the perfect example of truly living the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you had the honor of knowing Al, you could see this in his daily life. He never said an unkind word to or about anyone. He was a devoted Sunday school teacher and always made sure his children attended. He was a member of the Centerville Christian Church at the time of his passing.

Al joins his parents, his first wife, Violet Sparks, his daughter Tammy Dozier, his sister Donna Kersey and two brothers Don and Claude Sparks in Heaven.

He is survived by his many loving family members, including his wife, Shirley Fields, his children Pam (Tony) Martin of Williamsburg, Chris (Traci) Sparks of Centerville, son-in-law James (Cindy) Dozier; eight grandchildren, Heidi, Shannon, Shane, Kris, Rachelle, Devin, Rylee and Jackson, seventeen great-grandchildren, one brother Ron Sparks, several nieces, nephews and five step children Greg, Tim, Lisa, Sherri, and Eric.

A Celebration of Life for Al will be held from 12:00 PM to 1:30PM March 2, 2024 at the Centerville Christian Church with Terry Cochran officiating; inurnment will be in Crown Hill Cemetery.  Stegall-Berheide-Orr Funeral home is handling the arrangements; condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.stegallberheideorr.com