Earl Lynn “Al” Aylesworth passed away in Tacoma, Washington, July 16, 2025 at age 77.  He was born to Owen R. Aylesworth and Mary H. Horton in Santa Barbara on April 3, 1948.

He attended Harding Elementary, La Cumbre Junior High, and Santa Barbara High School where he graduated in 1966.

Earl was highly competitive, excelling as a track athlete in hurdles and cross country, as well as multiple top-tier awards in California State Freestyle Roller Skating Championships.

He attended Santa Barbara Community College for one year before moving to Denver, Colorado, in 1967.

Earl promptly enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a communications specialist, and was stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. Having acquired the rank of sergeant, he was honorably discharged from the Air Force in February 1974, then returned to Denver.

Earl married his loving companion and life partner Sharon L. Cairns on Nov. 23, 1974. He took Sharon’s young son Troy R. Wilcox (later Aylesworth) and proudly raised him as his own.

Earl attended Metropolitan State College in Denver, where he taught math and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelors degree in electrical engineering technology and a minor in mathematics in 1977.

Soon after graduating from college, Earl began a long career in telecommunications. Beginning with Harris Corporation in 1977, he was involved with construction of the early infrastructure for pager networks.

His expertise expanded infrastructure and market financial planning for what evolved into network expansion among the burgeoning cellular companies derived from the newly-minted regional derivatives of AT&T.

Earl and Sharon happily welcomed their second son Todd Donavon Aylesworth on Aug. 30, 1979.

Earl moved his small family from Colorado to New Jersey with AT&T (Bell Labs) for one year, then transferred to Bellevue, Washington, in July 1983 with the newly-established AT&T cellular spinoff US West/New Vector.

Over the next decades, through multiple mergers, Earl was pivotal in the proliferation of some of the most recognizable mobile carrier corporations in the world. He was involved in consulting for infrastructure for some of the early European networks as well, particularly in Hungary.

His experience and accolades eventually landed him at T-Mobile, a new Deutsche Telecom (Germany) subsidiary in the U.S. at the time, where he worked for 14 years finally officially retiring in July 2014.

After retiring from T-Mobile, Earl and Sharon moved from their long-time residence in Redmond, Washington, to the beautiful city of Gig Harbor, Washington.

In 2017, Earl was introduced to his eldest child, his daughter Virginia Darlene Kursaitis-Fletcher and her family, finally marking the last item on a long list of his life’s hopes and accomplishments.

In his family and personal/recreational life, Earl was highly respected. He would master any skill or activity he decided to take on.

Among his many skills, he was an avid fisherman and loved the outdoors. He spent countless hours playing with his sons and working with them on their various projects.

Later, he spent the better part of a decade with them and their friends in the Boy Scouts.  Earl’s time and attention to mentoring earned him one of the highest accolades presented to Boy Scout leaders.

During this time working with the Boy Scouts, he developed an incredible talent for woodcarving, wanting to contribute to one of the higher-order scouting programs.

Decades later from this start, Earl was winning awards for his highly-detailed Northwest Native American sculptures at both local and regional events.

An avid scuba diver, Earl logged more than 1,000 dives and created a substantial underwater photography catalog.

In all of these endeavors, Earl had a significant influence on his peers as both a mentor and enthusiast. As a father, uncle and grandfather, his family was his center. 

He built his world and spent his time so the people he loved would always have a place to gather and would know he always stood with them.

Earl will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Earl’s survivors include his wife Sharon Aylesworth; three children Virginia Darlene Kursaitis-Fletcher (David), Troy Aylesworth (Britnie), and Todd Aylesworth (Keri); his father Owen Aylesworth; his sister Nancy White; brothers Sheldon Aylesworth and Michael Douglas; grandchildren Austin McElhannon, Nicholas McElhannon, Luke McElhannon, Braden Sanders and Blake Aylesworth; two great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Earl was preceded in death by his mother Mary (Horton) Douglas; Robert Douglas; and sister Deborah Lopez.

A celebration of life was held at Wapato Park in Tacoma, Washington, on July 27, 2025. Many family members and friends gathered to celebrate the wonderful person he was and the full life he lived.

A service will also be held in January 2026 in Santa Barbara, where Earl will be laid to rest at the Santa Barbara cemetery.