Homegoing Celebration for Mr. Al Joseph “Tboy” Anthony Sr. will be held at the Ben Johnson Auditorium Saturday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. with burial following in Lawrence Serenity Sanctum. The remains will lie in state for public visitation at the auditorium Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. until service time. God, in His infinite wisdom, called our beloved Al Joseph “Tboy” Anthony Sr. from labor to reward Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016 while a patient at the St. Francis Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria. He became a delight to his parents, the late Mr. Arthur Anthony and Mrs. Annie Lee Davis Anthony in the Bermuda community of Natchitoches Parish May 5, 1933. He was the only child that blessed this marital union. He was reared in an atmosphere of love and was taught early in life to know God as a Supreme Being. He confessed Christ as his personal Savior and was baptized by his maternal grandfather, the late Rev. Gentry Davis, at the St. Paul Baptist Church in Bermuda. Brother Anthony received his education as a student in the Natchitoches Parish Public School System. Initially, he attended a church school in Clarence, and later went on to do further study at St. Matthew High school in Melrose. “Tboy” married the love of his life when he united in matrimony with the late Mrs. Henrietta Shields Anthony on June 22, 1952, a marriage bond which lasted 62 years and brought forth eight children. Brother Anthony as the only child of his parents was extremely delighted to have been the patriarch of a family of eight children, 22 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. His career path led him into a work previously unknown to black gentleman in the Natchitoches area when he became a Sales Manager at the Western Auto Store in downtown Natchitoches during the turbulent 1960s. His ambitious and energetic nature fostered success even in this new and uncharted course of work. And, of course, his outgoing personality, gift of gab and nerves meeting a stranger was a high plus in such a position. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparent Jo Anna and Thomas Anthony, maternal grandparents Gentry and Emma Davis his parents, Annie Lee Davis Anthony and Arthur Anthony, and his wife, Henrietta Shields Anthony. His spirit will live on indefinitely for those who cherished him in life and now survive him in transition: Al Joseph Anthony Jr. of Natchitoches, Rev. Billy Earl Anthony (Patricia) of Little Elm, Texas, Bruce Anthony (Dorothy), Barry Anthony (Carol Jean), Cornealius Anthony (Diann), Wanda Grace (Bill), Brenda Corssey (Terry) and Brunetta Anthony all of Houston; 22 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends.