Paul Frederick Alley

Paul Frederick Alley, 77, of Lakeland, passed away on February 23rd, 2021. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the family has decided to hold a celebration of his life at a later date. Paul was born in West Palm Beach, Florida on July 17th, 1943, and moved to Lakeland in 1956. It was at First United Methodist Church that Paul met Marcia Nicodemus in Sunday School. They married in 1965 and would have celebrated 56 years of marriage this summer. After Paul graduated from Lakeland Senior High School in 1961, he attended Florida Southern College and worked part time as a radio dispatcher for the Lakeland Police Department. This sparked his initial interest in law enforcement and led to a lifelong career, serving with both the LPD and the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. His many honors included being selected to attend the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Through hard work and determination, he worked his way through the ranks, retiring in 2004 as the Undersheriff of Polk County. To know Paul was to love him. He could walk into a room not knowing a soul, and leave with 37 new friends. He made everyone feel safe, loved and “like family.” Paul remained extremely involved at FUMC, going with Marcia every Saturday for more than 20 years to set up the flags, put out the chairs and prep the coffee ahead of the 9:40 contemporary service. He was a wonderful singer, and taught himself to play both the guitar and the piano. He took pride in a beautiful yard, a well-organized garage and perfectly-hung artwork. He was an average, but enthusiastic golfer, and never took himself too seriously. He loved nothing more than sitting in his rocking chair on the deck with his beloved dog(s) (Sam, Jerry and Alex), greeting all the neighbors by name as they passed by. But the true light of Paul’s life was his family. Never was there a more proud father, husband and granddaddy than Paul Alley Sr. Paul is survived by his wife, Marcia, his son, Paul Jr. (Amy), his daughter, Lindsey (Lee), his grandsons, Cole, Reese and Owen, his sisters, Ann Lee Earnshaw, Jo Sumara (Jim), and his sister-in-law, Linda Alley. Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Alley and his brother, Raymond Alley Jr. Esquire. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Think Big for Kids in Tampa, Florida (thinkbigforkids.org) or the Neighborhood Ministries at the First United Methodist Church in Lakeland (firstumc.org). Condolences may be made to Heath Funeral Chapel in Lakeland, Florida (heathfuneralchapel.com).