Alvin McLean Churchwell, 79, a retired Army Colonel who was a project manager on the Defense Department communications system known as Autodin, died of congestive heart failure November 28, 2001, at his home in Springfield, Virginia.

Colonel Churchwell, a native of Huntingdon, Tennessee, served 28 years in the Army before retiring in 1970 while on assignment with the Defense Communications Agency in Arlington.

He entered the Army in 1943 and served as a communications officer in Europe and Africa during World War II. He also served in Korea during the war there.

In later years, he was stationed in Tokyo as commanding officer for the Defense Communications Agency.

His military decorations included the Bronze Star.

In retirement, he spent about 15 years with Comsat and Intelsat, both in Washington, as a senior operations manager of satellite communications projects.

His daughter, Jacquelyn Churchwell, died in 1975.

Survivors include his wife of 54 years, E. Eleanor Churchwell of Springfield; two sons, Robert, of Springfield and William, of Catlett, Virginia.; two sisters; and two grandchildren.