Obituaries:  Walter Maxey, Sabine Parish       M-200
Source:  Sabine Index, Many, La., Dec 28, 1978
Submitted by: Carl Dilbeck
              carlrad@earthlink.net




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Walter Maxey (Photo)

  Death claimed one of Sabine Parish's pioneers on Thursday,
December 21, at 9:45 a.m. Dead at the age of 91 was Walter Maxey,
who has gathered a host of friends over his years in Many.

  According to friends, Mr. Maxey had checked his mail at the Many
Post Office after 9 a.m., and headed back to his room at the Old
Rains Hotel on Capital Street in Many. He collapsed on the second
story of the hotel at the door to his room. A local doctor
pronounced him dead, and Sabine Parish Coroner Dr. W. W.
Poimboeuf of Pleasant Hill was notified.

  Walter Maxey was born on May 14, 1887, on the Sabine River, to
Richard and Mattie Maxey. He grew up in the Vines Chapel
community, and went through the fourth reader in grade school.

  In 1907, he eloped to Hemphill, Tex. in a rented team, with
Blanche Campbell. After living in Zwolle for one year, they moved
to her father's farm in Ajax. Over the next decade or two, Mr.
Maxey farmed. Death claimed his beloved wife in 1948, and he
lived the life of a bachelor for four years.

  In 1953, Mr. Maxey married Lena Blankenship. They operated a
truck patch, and lived a good life for two years, until her death
in 1955.

  In 1967, Mr. Maxey came to Many because he wanted to come home.
He resided in the Rains Hotel on Capital Street.

  Everyone in town knew the friendly gentleman. He was nicknamed
"Grandpa Maxey" and "Uncle Walter" by his friends. He always wore
a white shirt and tie, and carried his walking stick.

  Mr. Maxey could be seen chatting on street corners with his
buddies, sipping coffee at the McNeely Coffee Shop, checking his
mail, or making his calls to shopkeepers, whom he visited
regularly. One of his favorite things to do was to relax on the
porch of the old hotel in the evenings.

  Exercise and God is what kept him going over the years, he
claimed in an interview with the INDEX back in 1977.

  Funeral services for Mr. Maxey were held at the Pilgrim Rest
Baptist Church on Friday, Dec. 22, at 3 p.m. Officiating were the
Rev. Kenneth Leach, the Rev. Cecil Marr, and the Rev. Earl Marr.
Burial was in the Pilgrim Rest Cemetery, under the direction of
the Warren Meadows Funeral Home. His grandsons served as
pallbearers.

  Survivors include two sons, Claude Maxey, and Horace Maxey, both
of Many; four daughters, Mrs. Annie Guay, and Mrs. Lois Neel,
both of Many, Mrs. Mildred Marr of Shreveport, and Mrs. Catherine
Neel of Port Arthur, Tex.; 15 grandchildren; 32 great
grandchildren; and three great-great grandchildren.

  Pallbearers were Billy Guay, James Guay, Jerry Neel, Ronnie
Neel, Donnie Neel, and Jimmy Baker.

  Honorary pallbearers were George Maxey, and Cecil Marr.