John Joseph "Joe" Alford, 90, passed away Saturday, January 13, 2024, at his home in Gulf Breeze, FL.

Joe was born February 11, 1933, in Phoenix, AZ, to John Randolph Tucker Alford and Harriet Alford. He grew up in Highland Park, IL, before moving to Maryland in 1948, graduating from high school in Saint Michaels, MD in 1951. He served in the US Navy from 1953 through 1957, serving in Bermuda as a petty officer first class meteorologist. He earned a BA from the University of Maryland in 1960, an MA from the University of Maryland in 1963, and a PhD from the University of Kansas in 1968. He taught meteorology, climatology, geology, and earth science at various universities: University of Maryland, the State University of New York at Cortland, Western Illinois University, Louisiana State University, and University of West Florida. His primary areas of research and publication were the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay oyster fishery, Pleistocene extinctions, the geology of Gulf Coast salt domes, and hurricane prediction. He had a genuine passion for his research and loved his days spent in the field exploring the terrain from prairies of Illinois to bayous of Louisiana. Many cross-country family car trips were interrupted when he spied a particularly interesting soil exposure along the roadside, requiring a stop to allow him to clamber up the bluff and unearth various mysteries of the Ice Age. He loved to teach and over the course of his career mentored dozens of undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom became lifelong friends. He retired from Western Illinois University in 1988 and moved to Gulf Breeze in 1990. Joe was a quiet, gentle man and a scholar.

Joe is preceded in death by his parents and an older brother.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Deanne Duis Alford of Gulf Breeze; brother, John Randolph Tucker Alford of Hamilton, MT; sisters, Jocelyn Alford Gates of Brookings, OR and Laura Alford Cotts of Cedar City, UT; children, Amanda Alford Barton (Monte) of Austin, TX, J. Tucker Alford (Carolyn) of Atlanta, GA, Megan Alford Baker (J. Paul) of Washougal, WA, John Joseph Alford (Heather) of Wesley Chapel, FL; as well as nine grandchildren, Henry Alford, Abigail Barton, Elizabeth Barton, George Alford, Charlotte Baker, Julianne Baker, Smith Alford, Addie Alford, and Tucker Alford.

A private family graveside will be held at Barrancas National Cemetery with military honors.