Alvin was born August 14, 1926 at home--710 South Third Street in Eunice, Louisiana. His parents were William Henry Kessler, a sawmill filer from Binghamton, NY who later became a city clerk in Eunice, and Verda Evelyn Allen Kessler from Birch Tree, MO. Alvin was one of nine children. He graduated from Eunice High School at age sixteen in May of 1943. He worked for Ardoin Department Store as a clerk, janitor, and bookkeeper, among other tasks. In early July of 1944 Alvin entered the U.S. Navy, weighing 100 pounds. He completed boot camp in San Diego, then amphibious training in Coronado, California, where he learned to drive Higgins boats. Aboard the USS Siboney, Alvin sailed to Hawaii, Leyte, Okinawa, and into Japan. "We saw no battles, but we saw a lot of geography," he says in summing up his service. Alvin sailed to the states in February of 1946, and then returned to Guam. There the Siboney picked up planes to ferry to Hawaii. He returned to America on June and was discharged. Alvin entered LSU in September of 1946, and earned a degree in commerce. He then joined Bell Telephone, remaining with the company for thirty-five years. He later worked for a chamber of commerce in economic development in Shreveport, and then consulted in that field for ten years. He served as president of Rotary Club of Shreveport, and now volunteers his time in extending interstate 149 up to the Arkansas state line. Alvin married Lynell Bryant in 1955. She passed away in 1983. He then married Elizabeth Penner. He has one son and three grandchildren.