Brother Al walked the walk.

Because he did, hundreds — if not thousands — of men and women were able to get to better places in their lives.

He was able to work what some might call minor miracles by helping people recover from addiction and/or getting off the streets.

He did so with a deep committed to not just God and his faith, but to honesty and love of others.

In doing so he changed not just lives, but the community of Manteca as well.

Alvan Deardorff passed away March 20 at the age 80.

His life’s work besides loving and raising a family, serving a somewhat ungrateful nation in the Vietnam War, included founding His Way Recovery with the opening of the first home in 2001 to stepping up in September of 2022 to work with the City of Manteca to run the emergency shelter and homeless services at 555 Industrial Park Drive.

To those that need numbers instead of individual stories of various degrees of success, His Way’s efforts through both its 11 faith-based recovery homes it quietly operates in Manteca and the homeless shelter is staggering.

*There are more than 100 men and women working to recovery from addiction at any given time in Manteca.

*Through efforts with the homeless shelter, 50 plus individuals have been successfully reunited with their families.

*Ninety-three homeless struggling with drugs or alcohol have entered recovery programs.

*Hundreds upon hundreds of homeless have secured housing and even jobs.

Brother Al would be the first to tell you he didn’t do it on his own. It was a team effort starting with God all the way to his family as well as commited staff and volunteers.

Those that knew Brother Al as a father, grandfather, a friend, and a man who never gave up on them will be paying their respects on Friday, April 10, at 11 a.m. at Crossroads Church on Moffat Boulevard. Viewing is from 9 to 11 a.m.

Before sharing a bit of his journey that started in Oakdale when he came into the world on Feb. 7, 1946, it would be appropriate to share with the community that he played an instrumental role in tackling the complex Rubik’s Cube that homelessness is and enjoying growing success just how he viewed a homeless man, woman, or child and how he hoped others would as well.

There aren’t homeless.

They are human beings.

They are someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather or grandmother.

They end up on the streets for a variety and combination of reasons.

Try to vision yourself walking in their shoes.

If you simply dismiss them for essentially deserving to be homeless as being their fault as you walk or drive by, then you are simply stereotyping.

His Way and the homeless shelter have had elderly people who could no longer afford rent or to take care of themselves walk into 555 Industrial.

There have been some elderly whose families could no longer care for them given economic pressures that have dropped them off.

There have been able-bodied men with jobs and not addicted going to work every day while living on the streets because they could not afford or secure shelter.

Others have been hit with a catastrophic event — a loss of a job and being unable to secure a new one, recovering from a major illness or accident that caused economic havoc and such.

And yes, a lot of homeless have addiction problems.

Brother Al, who worked for more than four decades in the paper mill industry, lived in Manteca for 35 years while quietly changing lives and strengthening the community.

He was a proud Army veteran who served from 1967 to 1969 and returned stateside to a nation where many looked down on his service.

In the mid-1990s, his drug addiction ended with being busted by Manteca Police and spending tine in a jail where he “surrendered to God.”

Do not misunderstand. It wasn’t a jail conversion.

Al had been raised by his grandparents in a Christian home. He knew God. He simply had lost his way.

The justice system required his attendance at Alcoholic Anonymous meetings.

It was there that he came across Pastor Mike Johnson, who would help steer his life in a new direction.

He became clean and sober on Dec. 6, 1996.

Two years later, he began his ministry at Liberty Baptist Church.

He opened his first recovery home in 2011. There are now 11 across Manteca, seven for men and four for women.

They keep a low profile by respecting neighbors.

That means no hanging out in the front yard. They even help neighbors more their lawns.

They operate with honesty.

Honesty and respect.

It is the same formula that works for His Way at the emergency homeless shelter.

Brother Al’s association with the city as the homeless shelter operation started with a knock on his door in August of 2022.

Manteca Police Officer Mike Kelley, who is assigned to the department’s homeless efforts, was there to ask for his help. The organization the city had been working with gave two weeks’ notice and the city couldn’t think of anyone else who could help.

Brother Al prayed on it for a few days.

The rest is history.

There’s more to the man than that, much more.

Just ask his beloved wife Shari, his children, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren.

He was compassionate, loved unconditionally, and was a great listener.

And as anyone who had the pleasure of having their ear bent by Brother Al, he always had a good story to tell.

As for the story Brother Al wrote during the 80 years that he was on earth, is its worthy of telling again and again — one man working with others with a committment to love and faith can change the world one Manteca at a time.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com