Former WLOX journalist fondly remembered in South Mississippi and beyond
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- Al Showers, 62, battled a muscle disease before learning he had advanced colon cancer.
- Showers spent 30+ years at WLOX-TV, later working at WEAR in Pensacola.
- Colleagues recall his mentorship, charity support and deep Christian faith.
Al Showers was always determined to get the story.
For more than 30 years, the veteran TV journalist brought South Mississippi the news, most often from his beloved Hancock County.
Freelance journalist Stacey Cato, who worked alongside Showers for years and considered him her closest friend, remembers he once started to tromp into the woods for news video near the home of a suspected gunman on the loose. Cato insisted he not do it.
“Al was just a go-getter,” Cato said. “He was getting that story, no matter what.”
Social media tributes are pouring in for Showers this week after people learned the 62-year-old died Friday in an Alabama hospital. He had been sick for a couple of years, but was fighting his way back from a muscle disease when he learned that he had advanced colon cancer.
“This happened quickly,” Cato said. “Very quickly. None of us were prepared for it.”
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Showers family settles in Alabama
Showers was the third of four siblings, named Alvin Joseph Showers III after his father. His family moved around for his father’s career in the Air Force. They settled in Mobile when Showers was in high school, said his brother, John “Duby” Showers.
The children were raised with a strong work ethic and all eventually found work that they dedicated themselves to.
Showers loved journalism and started his career as a teen. His uncle, Mel Showers, worked for more than 50 years at WKRG-TV in Mobile, where he retired as longtime anchorman.
Showers spent most of his career at WLOX-TV in Gulfport before moving to WEAR-TV in Pensacola, where he worked as a photographer and multimedia journalist. Former colleagues at both stations shared their memories of Showers on social media, including Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, who worked at WLOX early in her career.
Cato said that he never stopped working, even when they were enjoying an evening out. He was very friendly, chatting up strangers and finding stories everywhere he went.
“It wasn’t a job to him,” she said. “It was life to him. He would always do that digging.”
TV journalist extended helping hand
BreAnna Hart met Showers when she was a child because he and her mother were friends. He always hunted Hart up when he was at one of her schools for a story.
“He was such a great person,” Hart said. She grew up taking dance lessons and taught her first class when she was 14. When she was around 22, she told Showers about the summer dance camp she wanted to start for low-income children. One night, they sat together in his home office, where he helped Hart write a detailed proposal for the camp.
A nonprofit, The Giving Circle, then helped raise the money for her camp. She said 54 children attended. The camp led to a children’s dance team, The Mississippi Sweethearts, who recently marched in several Mardi Gras parades.
“Al has been there,” she said. “He was like a father figure.”
William Reynolds, publisher of WEAR-TV news partner northescambia.com, always enjoyed talking to Showers, even when Showers called for directions because he was lost in the woods.
Showers’ family is reading all the comments about him on social media and realizing how widely he was loved. His faith in God was deep, as was his love of family and friends.
Along life’s way, he tried to help everyone he could. When his brother’s house needed to be painted, Showers came over in the evenings after work to help. If he saw that his brother’s grass needed to be cut, he cut it without asking.
Duby Showers said, “He had a heart and a half — close to two hearts.”
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 3:32 PM.
