Obituary: Roy Willie Ezell, Lincoln Parish, LA Submitted by Patricia E. Ezell, San Antonio, TX 78232 Source: Ruston Daily Leader, Sunday, May 4, 2003 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Roy Willie Ezell died April 30, 2002, at the age of 94 in San Antonio, Tx. He was born in Jena, La, on October 4, 1908, to Willie Splawn Ezell and Rebecca Elizabeth Boddie Ezell and spent many of his childhood and adolescent years living with his family in the Lake Arthur and Gueydan areas of South La. After the early death of his mother in 1925, Roy returned to Jena with his father and his sister, Elizabeth Ezell, where he lived until he graduated from Jena High School on May 13, 1927. He attended La. Polytechnic Institute (now La. Tech Univ.) in Ruston, La., for several years, sharing expenses, a job and living quarters with his future brother-in-law, Dudley Roberts. During two summers, he participated in the Civilian Military Training Camp (CMTC) programs and a few years later, he entered a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp near Chatham, LA. In 1934, he worked for the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey traveling across the northern part of the U.S. as the official boundary line between the U.S. and Canada was surveyed. On July 17, 1934, Roy married Lorena Roberts of Jena, La. while they and other family members were attending the Chicago World's Fair. For the first six months of their married life, they lived in a tent while Roy continued his surveying work. From 1939-1941, Roy was employed with United Gas in Vivian, La. In 1942, he worked at the Army munitions plant in Texarkana, Tx. During WWII, Roy was employed in the shipyards in Orange, Tx., working with blueprints for ship building. In 1947, Roy began a career with the California Oil Company (now Chevron) near Lake St. John and Ferriday, La. Soon, he, his wife, and his two daughters relocated to Ruston where he worked in the Hico Plant of the Calif. Oil Company. Roy retired from Chevron in November 1973, after 27 years of employment. Roy Ezell was preceded in death by six months by his wife, Sarah Lorena Roberts Ezell, with whom he had shared 68 years of married life. Also preceding him in death were his mother, Rebecca Elizabeth Boddie Ezell, his father, Willie Splawn Ezell (who lived for 97 years), his grandparents, Dr. Jefferson Ezell and Martha Elizabeth Splawn Ezell, Rev. Wyatt David Boddie and Sarah Jane Baker Boddie. He is survived by his daughter, Hilma Ezell Nelson and her husband, Robert Nelson of Montgomery, Al., his daughter, Patricia E. Ezell and Ernest Gerlach of San Antonio, Tx., and his sister, Elizabeth Ezell Kemp of Pineville,La. During his 54 years in Ruston, Roy was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church where he attended the Hale Memorial Men's Bible Class, sang in the Men's Choir and served as a Boy Scout Master of Troop 45 and of Troop 47. In 1943, he was initiated into the Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana Free and Accepted Masons through Vinton Lodge #363. He entered as Apprentice on June 9, 1943 and received the Fellow Craft degree on September 15, 1943. In 1948 he was a member of Ferriday Lodge No 390. He was awarded the 32nd degree Master Mason designation in 1978 by the Ruston Blue Lodge #106 and was presented with his 50-year certificate in 1993. He was also a 50-year member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasony, S.J. of Monroe, La. Roy had a strong love for outdoor life and enjoyed fishing, hunting and camping. During his retirement years, Roy and Lorena traveled throughout the U.S. pulling a camper trailer, often vacationing with family members at national park campsites. Roy and Lorena also loved growing flowers; his specialty was camellias and he had 18 beautiful camellia plants in his yard in Ruston. He was an active member of the Ruston Men's Camellia Club and could always be counted on to have prize-winning entries in camellia shows. Roy and Lorena also volunteered for several years at the Louisiana Methodist Children's Home. Roy lived a long and full life, impacting the lives of many. He was loved by family and friends and will be fondly remembered and greatly missed. He was ready to join his "sweetheart" of 68 years with whom he has now been reunited. A memorial service honoring both Roy Ezell and Sarah Lorena Roberts Ezell will be held in Ruston, La. at the Burkhalter Chapel of Trinity United Methodist Church on Memorial Day, May 26, at 11 a.m. Family visitation will be from 10 - 11 a.m. in the foyer of the Chapel. Officiating at the Memorial Service will be The Reverends Fred Weidman, Rolly Walker and Doug McGuire. This will be followed by a Masonic funeral led by Mason Ed Collins with the final interment of the Ezells in the Douglas Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Memorial donations may be made to Grand Lodge of Louisiana Dyslexia program for children, T.J. Pitman, Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana, P.O. Box 12357, Alexandria, LA 71315-2357, the Shriner's Hospital for Children in Shreveport, 3100 Samford Avenue, Shreveport, LA 71103, the La. Methodist Children's Home, P.O. Box 929, Ruston, La. 71272-9976 or to a charity of one's choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in the guest book at www.porterloring.com/.