Alexander Janke, Lt. Col (Ret.)

Alexander Janke, Lt. Col (Ret.)

Born: Riverside, California January 22, 1948

Died: Clayton, California May 10, 2019

Alex grew up in Riverside, California.  He attended the University of California at Davis for his undergraduate studies in archeology.  He also earned a Masters degree from the same university in Education.

He served 22 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.  During that time he was a commander of a tank platoon in Germany and a tank company in South Korea.  He served in many different posts over the years, including a tour at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Alex married Ruth Frank of Clayton and they were together 48 years.  In the past six years, Alex and Ruth had purchased ownership of a ranch on Mt. Diablo that had been in Ruth’s pioneer Clayton family since the 1800’s.  He enjoyed working on projects at the ranch.

For 20 years Alex was a dedicated member of the Model A Ford Club of America (MAFCA) and the Diablo A’s in Concord, California.  He had leadership roles in both organizations, serving as national president three times, national treasurer and national publication/PR director.  Alex wrote or contributed to many books on Model A Ford restoration, and judging standards.  He is recognized internationally as one of the key members of the club because of his presentations in many of Diablo A’s technical seminar videos.

Alex is survived by his wife, Ruth, their sons Art (Aimee) and Matt.  He was the proud grandfather of Emma, Clayton, and Zoey.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Centre Concord on June 9th between 12 - 3 pm.  The family suggests those who wish to do so can make donations in Alex’s name to the Model A Ford Foundation (MAFFI) http://www.maffi.org/WSContent/Memorials.html or Live Oak Cemetery, 1034 Pine Hollow Court, Clayton, CA 94517.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Alexander Janke, Lt. Col (Ret.), please visit our floral store.