Obituary: Dorothy Maurine Sparks, January 25, 2015

Contributed by Brenda Scott Hines
Aug 2015
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The Observer/Enterprise, Coke County, Friday, January 30, 2015

Sparks

Dorothy Maurine Sparks, 90, went to Heaven on Saturday, January 25, 2015. 
She was born on March 26, 1924, to Claude and Grace McCutchen Murtishaw 
in Coke County, Texas. She was one of eight children who were raised 
in the Wildcat Community of Coke County.
 
She is survived by her children, W. D. (Dub) Sparks, Jr. and wife, Kay; 
Bud Sparks and wife, Kay; Tony Sparks and wife, Jessica; and Linda Owens 
and husband, David, all of San Angelo. She is also survived by eight 
grandchildren, twenty-seven great-grandchildren and five great-great- 
grandchildren
.
Maurine married a Coke County boy, Wilfred Sparks, on March 28, 1941, at 
the Methodist Church in Bronte. They were married fifty-four years until 
his death in 1995. After their marriage, they lived on various ranches, 
farms and dairies in Coke and Mitchell Counties, where he was a ranch 
hand and she was a homemaker. The family settled into a permanent home 
in 1951 in Colorado City, when Wilfred went to work for Cosden Refinery.

After the children were raised, Maurine ventured out into the working 
world. She worked as a sales clerk at Anthony's in Colorado City for 
thirteen years before retiring. She and Wilfred (Blackie) then moved to 
San Angelo in 1982, where she lived the remainder of her life. Maurine 
was a Christian and was a founding member of the Quail Valley Baptist 
Church, serving as Treasurer for many years.

Maurine was a loving wife and mother during her children's childhood, 
staying at home to raise her family. Her legacy to be remembered is that 
she was always there for her family, lovingly tending them when they 
were sick, reading to them, teaching them about the Bible and Jesus, 
showing right from wrong, and always lovingly supporting them. She 
taught them to drive out on the back-roads of Mitchell County. She was 
a moral compass for them, showing by example how one should live. 

Years come and go quickly, but the love of a mother never dies.

"Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he 
praises her:" Proverbs 31.28.

Services are under the direction of Shaffer Funeral Home/Sherwood Way. 
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Online condolences may be made to www.shafferpioneer.com

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