Roll Call Tribute
Alan York '82 February 24, 2020 1:08 PM updated: February 25, 2020 4:03 PM
Alan Michael York
February 16, 1960 - December 24, 2019
Alan Michael York of St. Charles, IL, formerly of Dallas, TX and Duncanville, TX, passed away unexpectedly on December 24, 2019, 2 months shy of his 60th birthday and too young to be taken from us.
Alan grew up in Oak Cliff, TX and graduated in the top ten of his high school class. He followed by graduating from Texas A&M with a BBA in Management. In Duncanville, Alan was a member of the Swingers choral group and at A&M he was a proud member of the Singing Cadets, serving as Tour Manager and ensuring no members were lost or left behind.
Alan's career started in Dallas but took him to Chicago, Houston, and Seattle (Kirkland, Port Orchard and Kent), before eventually settling in Chicago, childhood home of wife Leah.
In Dallas, he learned much while managing the Quadrant Club where he was able to host Herb, Colleen, and many others from Southwest Airlines. He started his career at American Airlines (AA) where he would hone his skills and stamina by working harder than most everyone else. He moved to the bitter cold winter of Chicago's O'Hare Operations first to coordinate de-icing operations, manage Cargo Operations, and eventually as Managing Director of Operations. While there, he was able to assist celebrities and dignitaries including Sandra Bullock, Ricky Martin and others. He relished telling the resulting stories, plus sharing the craziness of working with the traveling public. While in Chicago he met Leah Dinghofer, who was the AT&T Account Manager for AA; they married October 25, 1996, at the beautiful Baker United Methodist Church in St. Charles, IL.
While at AA he was part of the response and recovery team for incidents in Cartagena, Northwest Arkansas, and Indiana. But perhaps his most impactful work experience was his involvement in the steps that unfolded after the terrorist attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001. Like so many of us, he was shocked and saddened by the threat that we faced, but he then went to work with other airport leaders in a bunker in the parking garage as they managed through having all flights grounded and the subsequent accommodation of passengers and the eventual resumption of service.
After AA, Alan went to work for Waste Management in Houston then moved to the Seattle area to run District Operations where he continued his habit of working long, hard hours, regularly arriving at the facility by 5am in order to be there when the drivers arrived, and leaving in the late afternoon. He moved to a role overseeing Safety where he was able to transition safety from being seen as an expense to being considered an asset. Alan worked hard and pressed his employees to do their best... working for him would be a challenge but also an opportunity to learn if you were up for it.
He loved making connections: he was always looking for that link that would tie people together. He loved finding that someone was from Waxahachie, went to A&M or worked with a mutual friend. One recent example was during the purchase of our parent’s apartment he discovered a "Waxahachie connection" with the sales manager and that became the start of many conversations.
He could build the conversation around these connections because he had a great memory. Starting at a young age he would whip us all at the concentration card game, and later in life he would recall details about TV shows, all types of sports events, family vacations, etc.
Speaking of sports, he loved (and simultaneously was driven crazy by) Aggie football, all baseball, and golf. He was the #1 fan of friend's Manessa Martin's son Carson Smith and spread word of every game he pitched far and wide. He learned to love the game of golf and enjoyed many fabulous courses. He used his AA passes to not only visit golf courses around the world but also to attend baseball games at great stadiums.
Alan always wanted to be helpful and useful. When he became less mobile, he was thrilled being called on to be the driver - this was a great fit because he ALWAYS arrived early anywhere he went. He drove Judy to appointments, Susan from and to the airport, Katie and friends to the football stadium so they would not have to pay to park, etc. Besides driving, one of his most helpful acts was to visit Janis & Mike and help them make the tough decision to move to CC Young, plus stay until the deal was complete and the house was sold.
Most of all, Alan was a great friend, keeping in touch with and being a rock of support to many. He was a devoted, loving, and thoughtful husband of 23-years to Leah. He was a loving son, brother and uncle who shared his love for them freely. He touched many deeply and will be missed and remembered.
Alan is survived by his wife, Leah, his parents, Michael & Janis York of Dallas, Tx., his sister Kathy (Mike) Sutton of Houston, Tx., his sister Susan (Bill) Kocak of Dallas, Tx., three nephew’s, Brad, Thomas & Will, and one niece, Katie. Mother-In-Law, Judy Dinghofer of St. Charles, Il., sister-in-law, Janet (Dave) Joseph of Lewisville, Tx.,, brother-in-law, Bruce Kronkow of West Chicago, Cousins, David (Kristi) Taylor of Houston, Tx., Karen (Tim) Quast of Denver, CO., Ann Taylor and Aunt Dee Dee (Drew) Vickers, his precious and sassy kitty, Zoë, and many, many wonderful friends!
Alan was proceeded in death by his uncle Gene Taylor, Lake Jackson, Tx., his paternal grandparents, Robert & Doris York of Waxahachie, Tx. and his maternal grandparents, Clyde & Vera Taylor of Waxahachie, Tx.
A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday January 11, 2020 from 2:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. with a memorial service to being at Moss-Norris Funeral Home 100 S. Third Street St. Charles.
A second memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 2:00 P.M. at First United Methodist Church 1928 Ross Ave. Dallas, TX 75201 in the sanctuary with a reception to follow in the atrium.
Arrangements entrusted to Moss Family Funeral Home - St. Charles 630-584-2000 or www.mossfuneral.com
© 2020 Moss Family Funeral Homes. All rights reserved
February 16, 1960 - December 24, 2019
Alan Michael York of St. Charles, IL, formerly of Dallas, TX and Duncanville, TX, passed away unexpectedly on December 24, 2019, 2 months shy of his 60th birthday and too young to be taken from us.
Alan grew up in Oak Cliff, TX and graduated in the top ten of his high school class. He followed by graduating from Texas A&M with a BBA in Management. In Duncanville, Alan was a member of the Swingers choral group and at A&M he was a proud member of the Singing Cadets, serving as Tour Manager and ensuring no members were lost or left behind.
Alan's career started in Dallas but took him to Chicago, Houston, and Seattle (Kirkland, Port Orchard and Kent), before eventually settling in Chicago, childhood home of wife Leah.
In Dallas, he learned much while managing the Quadrant Club where he was able to host Herb, Colleen, and many others from Southwest Airlines. He started his career at American Airlines (AA) where he would hone his skills and stamina by working harder than most everyone else. He moved to the bitter cold winter of Chicago's O'Hare Operations first to coordinate de-icing operations, manage Cargo Operations, and eventually as Managing Director of Operations. While there, he was able to assist celebrities and dignitaries including Sandra Bullock, Ricky Martin and others. He relished telling the resulting stories, plus sharing the craziness of working with the traveling public. While in Chicago he met Leah Dinghofer, who was the AT&T Account Manager for AA; they married October 25, 1996, at the beautiful Baker United Methodist Church in St. Charles, IL.
While at AA he was part of the response and recovery team for incidents in Cartagena, Northwest Arkansas, and Indiana. But perhaps his most impactful work experience was his involvement in the steps that unfolded after the terrorist attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001. Like so many of us, he was shocked and saddened by the threat that we faced, but he then went to work with other airport leaders in a bunker in the parking garage as they managed through having all flights grounded and the subsequent accommodation of passengers and the eventual resumption of service.
After AA, Alan went to work for Waste Management in Houston then moved to the Seattle area to run District Operations where he continued his habit of working long, hard hours, regularly arriving at the facility by 5am in order to be there when the drivers arrived, and leaving in the late afternoon. He moved to a role overseeing Safety where he was able to transition safety from being seen as an expense to being considered an asset. Alan worked hard and pressed his employees to do their best... working for him would be a challenge but also an opportunity to learn if you were up for it.
He loved making connections: he was always looking for that link that would tie people together. He loved finding that someone was from Waxahachie, went to A&M or worked with a mutual friend. One recent example was during the purchase of our parent’s apartment he discovered a "Waxahachie connection" with the sales manager and that became the start of many conversations.
He could build the conversation around these connections because he had a great memory. Starting at a young age he would whip us all at the concentration card game, and later in life he would recall details about TV shows, all types of sports events, family vacations, etc.
Speaking of sports, he loved (and simultaneously was driven crazy by) Aggie football, all baseball, and golf. He was the #1 fan of friend's Manessa Martin's son Carson Smith and spread word of every game he pitched far and wide. He learned to love the game of golf and enjoyed many fabulous courses. He used his AA passes to not only visit golf courses around the world but also to attend baseball games at great stadiums.
Alan always wanted to be helpful and useful. When he became less mobile, he was thrilled being called on to be the driver - this was a great fit because he ALWAYS arrived early anywhere he went. He drove Judy to appointments, Susan from and to the airport, Katie and friends to the football stadium so they would not have to pay to park, etc. Besides driving, one of his most helpful acts was to visit Janis & Mike and help them make the tough decision to move to CC Young, plus stay until the deal was complete and the house was sold.
Most of all, Alan was a great friend, keeping in touch with and being a rock of support to many. He was a devoted, loving, and thoughtful husband of 23-years to Leah. He was a loving son, brother and uncle who shared his love for them freely. He touched many deeply and will be missed and remembered.
Alan is survived by his wife, Leah, his parents, Michael & Janis York of Dallas, Tx., his sister Kathy (Mike) Sutton of Houston, Tx., his sister Susan (Bill) Kocak of Dallas, Tx., three nephew’s, Brad, Thomas & Will, and one niece, Katie. Mother-In-Law, Judy Dinghofer of St. Charles, Il., sister-in-law, Janet (Dave) Joseph of Lewisville, Tx.,, brother-in-law, Bruce Kronkow of West Chicago, Cousins, David (Kristi) Taylor of Houston, Tx., Karen (Tim) Quast of Denver, CO., Ann Taylor and Aunt Dee Dee (Drew) Vickers, his precious and sassy kitty, Zoë, and many, many wonderful friends!
Alan was proceeded in death by his uncle Gene Taylor, Lake Jackson, Tx., his paternal grandparents, Robert & Doris York of Waxahachie, Tx. and his maternal grandparents, Clyde & Vera Taylor of Waxahachie, Tx.
A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday January 11, 2020 from 2:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. with a memorial service to being at Moss-Norris Funeral Home 100 S. Third Street St. Charles.
A second memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 18, 2020 at 2:00 P.M. at First United Methodist Church 1928 Ross Ave. Dallas, TX 75201 in the sanctuary with a reception to follow in the atrium.
Arrangements entrusted to Moss Family Funeral Home - St. Charles 630-584-2000 or www.mossfuneral.com
© 2020 Moss Family Funeral Homes. All rights reserved
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