# Alvin Devane > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alvin_Devane > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alvin_Devane.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Devane > Source revision: 1298133330 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Alvin Earl DeVane** (November 2, 1923 – January 1, 2012)[1] was a former Army Air Forces sergeant and a retired Austin Police lieutenant. A street in [Austin, Texas](/source/Austin,_Texas) is named for him, since its opening in 1984. He was an amateur radio operator, and an active member and former president of Austin's barbershop singing community. ## Early life DeVane was born in [Elba, Alabama](/source/Elba,_Alabama) in 1923 and enlisted in the [Army Air Corps](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Corps) (then recently a component of the [United States Army Air Forces](/source/United_States_Army_Air_Forces)) in 1943, during which he was a [C-47](/source/C-47) [radio operator](/source/Radio_operator) in the [Pacific Theatre](/source/Pacific_Ocean_theater_of_World_War_II). A sergeant, he was assigned to the [318th Troop Carrier Squadron](/source/318th_Troop_Carrier_Squadron) (Commando), [3rd Air Commando Group](/source/353rd_Special_Operations_Group).[3] ## Career and recognition DeVane was a member of the [Austin Police Department](/source/Austin_Police_Department) from 1957 to 1983. A lot of his time there was spent as a street cop, but he later achieved the rank of Lieutenant and served in the traffic office.[3] The *American-Statesman* pictured DeVane in uniform among others at a disaster center for a May 1981 flood in Austin.[4] When DeVane was nearing retirement, one of his daughters sought to have a street named for him as a retirement gift.[5][6] She started by writing a letter to a popular Q&A columnist in the *[Austin American-Statesman](/source/Austin_American-Statesman)*, Ellie Rucker. She then investigated the possibility of changing the name of the street he lived on, but soon found that to be entirely too cumbersome a project. She moved on to finding a developer who would name a new street after him instead. She contacted an acquaintance of his in the city's Street and Bridge department who was instrumental in making it happen. A new development was being planned for southeast Austin, that would be the site of [Advanced Micro Devices](/source/Advanced_Micro_Devices). Thanks to the generosity of a developer, her dream became a reality in December 1984. Street and Bridge made a street sign for her to present to him along with the city [plat](/source/Plat), detailing the location. The event was covered by a local news television station and was also picked up by the [AP](/source/Associated_Press), appearing in the Dallas paper. ## Personal life During his military service, DeVane was stationed at Austin's [Bergstrom Field](/source/Bergstrom_Field) where he met his future wife, Antoinette "Toni", at a [USO](/source/USO) dance. Married in September 1944, they had four children and seven grandchildren.[5] DeVane has a namesake, Alvin DeVane II, who resides in Dallas. He was a fan of local [Texas Longhorns](/source/Texas_Longhorns) sports, as well as their marching band, particularly during its [DiNino era](/source/University_of_Texas_Longhorn_Band#Vincent_R._DiNino_era_(1955–1975)) of directorship.[3] DeVane was a member of *The Chordrangers* [barbershop](/source/Barbershop_music) chorus and former president of Austin's chapter of SPEBSQSA, the [Barbershop Harmony Society](/source/Barbershop_Harmony_Society).[7][8] He was also an [amateur radio operator](/source/Amateur_radio_operator),[1] having used the callsign WB5HZQ.[2] ## References 1. ["Obits 2012"](http://www.7290trafficnet.org/_mgxroot/page_10802.html). 7290 Traffic Net. January 4, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2014. 1. ["Radio Amateur Callbook: United States Fifth Call Area"](https://archive.org/stream/Winter_1978_Radio_Amateur_Callbook/Winter_1978_Radio_Amateur_Callbook_District_5#page/n35/search/WB5HZQ). Winter 1978. p. 419. Retrieved August 27, 2018. 1. ["Alvin Earl DeVane"](https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesman/obituary.aspx?n=alvin-earl-devane&pid=155324632). *Austin American-Statesman*. January 4, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2018. – via Legacy. 1. Barnes, Michael (May 29, 2015). ["Reader Memories of 1981 Memorial Day Flood in Austin: Part 2"](http://society.blog.austin360.com/2015/05/29/reader-memories-of-1981-memorial-day-flood-in-austin-part-2/). *Austin American-Statesman*. Retrieved August 27, 2018. – via Austin 360. 1. George, Patrick (January 3, 2012). ["Retired Austin police lieutenant and street's namesake Alvin DeVane dies"](http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/retired-austin-police-lieutenant-and-streets-nam-1/nRjRN/). *Austin American-Statesman*. Retrieved August 31, 2014. 1. ["Retired Austin police lieutenant and street's namesake Alvin DeVane dies"](http://setcomcorp.com/setcomsays/?p=195). *Setcom Says*. Setcom. January 12, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2014. 1. DeVane, Alvin & Bryant, John. ["Golden Memories: Southwest District Chapters: Chordrangers"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050204235009/http://www.harmonize.com/swdbbshop/golden_memories/58.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.harmonize.com/swdbbshop/golden_memories/58.html) on February 4, 2005. Retrieved January 10, 2016. Alvin DeVane, one of our past chapter presidents, has an Austin city street named for him. 1. ["The History Of The Austin Chapter"](https://acappellatexas.org/about/history/). *A Cappella Texas*. February 19, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2018. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alvin Devane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Devane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Devane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.