Alexander “Alex” “Brud” Gould of Alameda, California passed away on May 22, 2017 at Alameda Hospital.  Alex was born on April 22, 1921 to Samuel (Liverpool, England) and Jane Gould (Aberdeen, Scotland) in Sacramento, California.  He grew up with his sister, Hannah, in Hayward, California and graduated from Hayward Union High School. 

He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1940 and served proudly for 31 years as a Radioman and Communications Officer through the Atlantic and Pacific theatres of World War II and the Korean Conflict.  He was decorated with the United Nations Service Medal and Korean Presidential Unit Citation.  As a Radioman on the USS Relief Hospital ship sailing through Nova Scotia in December 1941, he delivered the message to the ship’s Captain about the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  While serving aboard the USS Gage Amphibious Assault ship, he was an eyewitness of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and told his daughters years later that the U.S. did not need to drop the second bomb because the damage caused by the first one was so horrific. He attended many reunions of the USS Gage in the aftermath of the Pacific WWII. 

After serving on the USS Ranger—the first U.S. aircraft carrier—and several other vessels he completed his last tour of duty near Athens, Greece as the Communications Officer for Europe and the U.S. 6th Fleet at the U.S. Naval Communications Station, Nea Makri, Greece.  During those 3 years, he and his 2 daughters, Julie and Maggie, traveled throughout Europe and Israel.  Following his retirement from the Navy in 1971, he worked for Raytheon Electronics in Saudi Arabia for 4 years where he traveled widely in the Middle East and East Africa. 

Upon returning to the U.S., he settled in Alameda, California where many of his sea and shore deployments occurred throughout his Naval career.  He worked in electronics at the University of California Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory until age 65.  His love of the wilderness and fishing lead him to volunteer for 11 years at Denali National Park, Alaska as a Campground Host for which he received a National Park Commendation.  He took 3 generations of Golden Retrievers named Yorgo with him.  Alaska is still very wild country and Alex had plenty of stories about female moose chasing him and Yorgo under the camper to protect their babies.  It was in Alaska where he and his daughters caught many King Salmon fishing the Talkeetna River.  In Alameda, up until age 90 he walked 5 miles daily to Sunny Beans Coffee and later Starbucks with Yorgo to exercise and read the paper.  He was a member of the Greatest Generation and a beloved father.

His daughter, Julie, of Arlington, Virginia; nieces Marsha Heavener of San Diego, California and Kathi Clark of Rochester, New York and beloved dog Yorgo survive him. 

A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, May 28 from 4-6pm at Tomatina’s at 1338 Park Street in Alameda.  Memorial donations may be made to the Northern California Golden Retriever Rescue non-profit at 405 El Camino Real #420, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (www.ngrr.org ). 

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