Alan Francis Wing

Alan Francis Wing, 91, passed away peacefully on October 7, 2019 at his home with his wife Ophelia by his side. He was laid to rest on October 19, 2019 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.

Alan was born on May 10, 1928 in Washington D.C. and was brought up in the State of Maine. He went to Madison High School where he played Varsity basketball and football, and received Letters every year. As a Sophomore, he joined the ROTC. After graduating from high school, Alan used the benefits he received from the ROTC to attend the University of Maine in Orono, where he was one of the star players in football and also received Letters during his 4 years. He was also a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. Alan graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1951. After graduation he went to Germany and served as 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. He came back to the U.S. after two years as 1st Lieutenant. Alan's assignment in Germany gave him an opportunity to travel all over Europe.

Alan was highly intelligent and went on to have an impressive career. He had nearly forty years of experience as a consulting Geotechnical engineer. He began his career as a Junior Soil Engineer with the Maine State Highway Commission, he served as a Photomapping Officer while in the U.S. Army, and for nine years was employed by an international soils engineering firm for which he held technical positions including Project Engineer, Chief Engineer, and Quality Assurance Engineer. For four years he was self-employed in the practice of soil mechanics and foundation engineering in Los Angeles. He was registered as a Civil Engineer and Geotechnical Engineer in the states of California, Nevada, Illinois and Hawaii.

During his career, he has held permanent assignments in the cities of Chicago, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Hawaii, and has supervised foundation investigations in over 30 states. These investigations were for many different types of project and foundation problems, including industrial complexes, marginal land reclamation, landslide corrections, large storage tanks and silos, pipelines, storage reservoirs, high-rise office and apartment buildings, off-shore platforms, grouting operations, subsurface dewatering, and expansive and collapsing soils. In 2008, Alan retired as Vice President for R.T. Frankian and Associates, Geotechnical Engineers in Burbank, California.

Alan married his wife Ophelia on October 22, 1988 and they enjoyed the most loving partnership for the next 32 years. They shared a love for family, athletics - including running in the Manhattan Beach Annual 10K Run every October from 1987 to 2007, skiing, tennis and travel. Alan was also an avid runner and ran Marathons and Triathlons. Alan was an engineer to his core, he had an incredible work ethic, he understood the importance of a good education, and he was an avid reader. His generosity was demonstrated by his philanthropic nature, he donated to many causes, as well as being a tutor for MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), a volunteer driven nonprofit serving the most vulnerable members of our community. In December 22, 1985 the Los Angeles Times did a feature article about MEND and the article highlighted Alan's selfless service. Alan and Ophelia also currently sponsor a child in Honduras through Plan International and had visited the child's family and school in 2010.

Alan was a kind son and brother, a devoted husband, the best dad, a sweet grandfather, and a loyal friend to so many. He is survived by his beloved wife Ophelia, son Allan, daughter in-law Tamy, grandsons Nua (10), Salesi (7), and Sione (6), his siblings Stephen (Mary Beth) and Susan (Tom Lavin), his many nephews and nieces, and his loyal Pitbull Labrador mix Snowball. He is predeceased by his parents Gerald and Katherine Wing, and his siblings Joan, Nancy, and David.