James Lloyd Alexander

James L. Alexander was born May 2, 1925 in Christiansburg, Virginia. He attended the Christiansburg Industrial Institute, and entered the United States Armed Forces. After completing a tour of duty in the United States Coast Guard, James attended West Virginia State College, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. It was while at West Virginia State that James joined the United States Army Reserves. In 1952, James married Lucille K. Smith and, to this union, two children were born. In 1956, the family relocated to Columbus, Ohio. James served as a teacher for the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities for 27 years before retiring in 1987. A longtime member of Trinity Baptist Church, he spent the past three years residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during which time, he attended Ebenezer Baptist Church. On January 1, 2015, James passed away while at the Ohio Valley Hospital in Pittsburgh. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lucille Alexander, sisters, Edith Waters and Piccola Hughes, brothers, Clarence, Leroy, William and Houston (as an infant). He is survived by two sons, Robert Alexander and David Alexander; sister, Helen Mills; and a host of other relatives and friends.