Hi Heather. I ran across this obituary today, on what I believe would be Alex’s 95th birthday. My deepest condolences to you and your family. Alex was truly a special person. The obituary noted Alex’s penchant for providing impromptu tennis lessons, and I was one of those people on the receiving end of Alex’s impromptu tennis lessons. I remember it like it was yesterday: on a balmy summer day in 2010, while I was hitting tennis balls against the wall at a public court in Truxton Park in Annapolis, Alex walked over from an adjacent court and started suggesting how I could improve my forehand. And just like that, a friendship was forged. Alex provided me many tennis lessons over the months that followed, and though my tennis didn’t improve as much as it should have (owing to my own lack of skill), Alex’s sense of humor, commitment to tennis, and joyful spirit made every session with him a pleasure. Our ages were separated by more than 45 years, but that didn’t matter because Alex was so young at heart and because we bonded over what we had in common. Alex became a dear friend and I was honored when he attended my wedding in 2011. After I moved away from Annapolis, our interactions became less frequent, but we still met up a few more times to hit tennis balls or have lunch. And we would catch up by phone every now and then. During each phone call, I could count on Alex to regale me with more stories of his tennis triumphs, world travels, experiences as a nurse, or the fun he had had at a recent family gathering in Massachusetts. And he would send me a card every year for my wedding anniversary, always with a clipping from the Far Side or some other comic strip to bring a smile to my face. Alex truly was a Renaissance Man and will be dearly missed. It was a privilege and pleasure to know Alex. His zeal for life and unabated optimism were, and remain,  sources of inspiration for me. 

Hello Heather.  My condolences on your father's death.  I found out about 2 months ago, after DNA testing of my mom and dad (as well as my own) that your father and my mother are 2nd or 3rd cousins.  My mother's mother was a 'Jarema' from the town of Hludno, Poland (at the time Galicia).  My grandmother had family in Boyne Falls, MI (a brother Leo/Leon Jarema and an uncle Simeon Jarema). She visited a few times and I traveled there to meet some cousins this past summer during their annual Polish Festival; I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to chat with your father; your story of his life was wonderful.

The 2017 ITHF inductees with Stan Smith behind them — with Stan Smith

I was privileged to meet and sit with Alex at Vic Braden's induction into the ITHF. — with Jim Klein and

I am so sorry, Heather, to learn of the loss of your dad. I was privileged to meet him at the induction of Vic Braden into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017. Even though we had just met, he was so genial, so hail-fellow-well-met in the best possible way, that we immediately connected. It felt like I'd known him for years - something I'm sure many people who met him experienced. In the years since then we occasionally spoke on the phone, conversations that were always a treat, sprinkled with stories about Vic from the bygone days of the pre-Open Era when he and Vic were part of the Barnstorming Tours with Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzales, et al. He had a crackerjack memory and was a great and vivid storyteller. I will miss those conversations, and I am so sorry we didn't have more. But I will treasure the ones we had. I am also terribly sorry I learned of his passing so late. Reading his full history, I guess I joined a lot of people who were lucky to have had your dad come into our lives.

Al and family at the dinner table

By coincidence, I searched for Alex after not being in touch with him for almost 50 years and I found this 'condolence' site only a few days after his passing.  I was hired by Alex (after being interviewed by the search committee) to be his assistant head pro at The Country Club in Brookline MA, Labor Day, 1974. I was with him for about 18 months, most of his tenure there.  Alex was such a kind and caring fellow.  He was extremely generous with me and he gave me full reign to run my tennis programs there. It was an incredible 18 months and put me on a path to continue my career as a Head Tennis Professional for the next 28 years. He was so modest and everything but boastful. I knew he was part of Hamtramack tennis royalty and played for U Michigan but I did not realize until now about his tennis accomplishments: junior champion (on an elite national scale), captain of the Michigan tennis team, played at Forest Hills, played (and lost) to Pancho Gonzalez, etc.  My time with him must have preceded the birth of Heather to whom I give my utmost sympathies. He was a remarkable, understated fellow. You have so much to be proud of.  He must have been an enchanting  grandpa ! Julian Kerbis (jkerbis@fieldmuseum.org)

My deepest condolences to all of Al’s family, he was an amazing human being, we loved him here in California and we have some dear memories when he travel  to visit us, May God give him peace, he will always be remembered, thanks for the happy memories dear Al, May you rest in peace.

Cecilia & Marco Cadena