Alfred Leist Barfield Sr 1936-2026

VICKSBURG, Miss.(VDN) — Alfred Leist Barfield, Sr., 90, died March 6th, at his home in Vicksburg, MS, surrounded by his family.

Mr. Barfield was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur Durward Barfield, Sr. and Daisy Hamilton Leist Barfield; his son, Arthur Durward “Dub” Barfield; his brothers, Arthur Durward (A.D.) Barfield, Jr. and Walter Durward Barfield; and his sisters, Joyce Lee Barfield and Barbara Ann Hallman.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Billye Ann Bowie Barfield; three sons, Alfred Leist Barfield, Jr. and wife Laura of Apex, NC, Lanny Brian Bowie Barfield and wife Linda of Vicksburg, and Jason Brent Barfield and wife Lori of Madison; his sister, Janice Barfield of Vicksburg; 11 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Barfield was born on January 6, 1936, in Vicksburg, and grew up on Lovers Lane—a neighborhood where he could proudly name every family and every house for half a mile in either direction. He graduated from Carr Central High School, where he excelled in sports and received the Best Male Athlete Award his senior year. He then attended Mississippi College where he played football, basketball, and baseball and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics with a minor in physics. It was there he met his future wife, Billye Ann Bowie. In 1962 he received a Master of Science degree in combined sciences from the University of Mississippi.

While working as a carpenter Mr. Barfield’s former principal talked him into substitute teaching for a single eight-dollar day. Fortuitously that day launched a career spanning four decades. He began teaching math at Carr Central, then Greenwood High School before finding a lasting home at Cruger-Tchula Academy in 1966. Over twenty-one years across two tenures at CTA, he served as a math and physics teacher, head football, basketball, and baseball coach, athletic director, and headmaster. He earned Star Teacher honors at both Greenwood and Cruger-Tchula. To him, both coaching and teaching were opportunities to instill lifelong values such as integrity, respect, and a strong work ethic.

Despite his distinguished career in education, Mr. Barfield never put down his hammer. He learned to build from his father, working summers for him as a young man alongside his uncles to construct more than thirty homes in the Sky Farm neighborhood next to where he grew up. He carried that craft through his entire life, building the family home in 1985 and passing the trade on to his sons.

Mr. Barfield was a man deeply connected to the land, his history, and his family. He spent much of his life hunting and fishing across Mississippi, and some of his best days were enjoyed spending time in the woods with his grandchildren, where the stories were as good as the hunting.

The family would like to extend its sincere appreciation to his caregivers as well as to Traditions Hospice Care.

Mr. Barfield was a longtime member of Trinity Baptist Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital of Mississippi, in Jackson, MS; Trinity Baptist Church, in Vicksburg, MS; or Cruger Baptist Church, in Cruger, MS.

Graveside services will be held at 1:00 pm on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at the City of Vicksburg Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg, MS.

Pallbearers are grandsons; Al Barfield, III, A.D. Barfield, Waid Barfield, Cody Barfield, and Jake Barfield; Joe Leist, David Flemming, Steve Flemming, and Chris Waterer.