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Albunion “Al” Benny Jury, born August 22, 1941, in Waskom, Texas, was raised by his mother Gladys and stepfather Nathan Cook in San Bernardino, California. Known as “Butch” to family, Al excelled early in baseball, football, basketball, and track. He joined the 1953 Elks Yankees Little League champion team and was part of the first San Bernardino Gridiron Club team.
Al attended Burbank Elementary, Richardson Junior High, and Pacific High School, where he thrived in sports and academics. He became a four-sport athlete, won city championships in junior high basketball, was on the speech team, and served as President of the Black Student Union. After graduating in 1959, he attended San Bernardino Valley College.
At 16, Al began refereeing Little League games, guided by mentor Chuck Lewis. By 18, he was officiating college games and joined the PAC 8 conference before being hired by the NFL in 1978 as its youngest referee. Al officiated five Super Bowls, wore uniform number 106, and retired in 2004 after an injury, later serving as an NFL observer and earning the Art McNally Award in 2014.
In addition to his sports career, Al served seven years with the U.S. Postal Service and had a 28-year career as a California Highway Patrol accident investigator.
Al was most proud of his family with his wife of 63 years, Juanita. Together, they had three sons, four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and a great-great-granddaughter. Preceded in death by his parents and grandson Donnell Jr., Al leaves behind his wife, children, grandchildren, and a large extended family.
