Classmate Al Hood Passes

It is always sad when we read an obituary of someone we knew from our youth. This is especially true when that person was about our age and we'd lost track of him or her over the years. That's how it was when Bobby Arnold let me know that Al Hood's obituary had been in the Tampa Tribune and I went to the Tribune website and pulled up Al's obit. This is how I remember Al, who was a high school friend, but with whom I lost contact after graduation. This is from my high school annual and other memorabilia:

I truly regret that I never got to ask him about his middle name of "Burdette". We were probably kin and never knew it. My great loss.

Here's a picture of the Homecoming Parade in 1954, our Junior year, which was in front of the old Mulberry High School. Caraker's "Li'l Red Truck" is to the right in the picture (I think I was driving - Ron in passenger seat) and Lamar Peace and Al Hood were on the back of the truck:

That's John Mock driving his little sports car with Rubye Anderson, one of the Homecoming Queen hopefuls.

Al represented MHS well in football and basketball, too. After transferring from Pinecrest his Junior year, he lettered in football and basketball his Junior and Senior years. He was named to the Senior All-Ridge Conference football team in his Senior year. Here's the the Tampa Tribune in October, 1955, naming al to the All-Ridge Football Team.

I wish I had known Al after we graduated. I saw in the obit that he was in the US Army, and that he founded the Welding Company from which he retired. I remember his brother, Bob, who played football with us when we were Juniors. Caraker told me Bob passed away a few years ago. Anyway, Al, old friend, may you rest in peace. If any of you know Al's widow or any of their children, please let them know about this website and encourage them to read these comments.