Ector Co. TX - Obits from the Odessa American Online 28 Feb 1999 Submitted by Charlene Beatty Beauchamp cbodessa@classicnet.net Thanks to the Odessa American Online http://www.oaoa.com/ ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** OA Online Obituaries. February 28, 1999 Permian Basin Obituaries _________________________________________________________________ FARMERSVILLE -- Services for Gladys Jewell Stephens, 80, were held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 in Fielder-Baker Chapel, followed by burial in IOOF Cemetery. Tracy McWilliams of First Assembly of God officiated. Miss Stephens died Saturday, Feb. 13, 1999 in Odessa, where she had lived since 1964. She was a beautician and owned her own beauty salon until the late 1970s. She worked for Hubbard Kelly and Flower Mart in the early 1980s. She is survived by her sisters, Wanda Jamison of Burkburnett, and Ruth Brown Emmons and husband Herb of Odessa; and brother, Paul Hill and wife Maxine of Odessa. She was preceded in death by her parents, the Rev. Lonnie Hill and Martha "Mattie" Hill, sisters Elsie Hall and Donna Hill Byers, and a brother, Jerry Hill. Although she had no children of her own, she was aunt to many nieces and nephews. Miss Stephens was raised in Farmersville, which to many people is Audie Murphy country. It truly is "Hill" country. Close to 100 first, second and third cousins still live around Farmersville. Pall bearers were cousins Diron Hill, Dale Hill and George Hill and nephews Chad Mayes, Rocky Rutledge, Chris Rutledge, Patrick Glenn and Jerry Jamison. _________________________________________________________________ PECOS -- Wendell Dugger Faulkner Sr. of Pecos passed away Feb. 26, 1999, after an extended illness. He was born Dec. 13, 1922, in Edna, Texas, to Bertha Dugger and Wendell Davis Faulkner. Services will be held at 2 p.m., Monday, March 1, 1999, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church with the Rev. C.E. Mclntyre officiating. Burial will be at Mount Evergreen Cemetery. Arrangements are by Pecos Funeral Home. Pallbearers will be Bill Collie, Bill Cowden, Dale Miller, Jim Pattee, Archie Scott and R.L. Struhall. Honorary pallbearers will be Bob Bickley, Bobby Dean, Cyrus Gordon, Lee Green, David Hess, Ed Kennedy, Bobby Mitchell, Dudley Montgomery, Rex Pigmon, Dick Slack and "Manie" Manuel Tarin. During World War II, Wendell was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, an Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and the European Campaign Ribbon with two broken stars for his service in the United States Army Air Corp. Stationed in Old Buckingham, England, with the 453rd Bombardment Group, Captain Faulkner flew 32 missions as a lead B-24 pilot. Upon his return home, he enrolled in the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Wendell and his three brothers are the only four sons from the same family to have ever received civil engineering degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. On June 9, 1945, Wendell married Janet Muckleroy of Austin. Wendell and Janet moved to Barstow in 1948 and on to Pecos in 1950 where he expanded his surveying business by opening Faulkner Construction Company. His general contracting firm operated throughout West Texas and built many buildings in Pecos including the First Baptist Church, St. Catherine's Catholic Church and Recreational Hall, St. Marks's Episcopal Church, Pecos High School Auditorium and Gymnasium and the Security State Bank. In 1962, Wendell was elected County Commissioner of Reeves County, Precinct 2, a position he held for 20 years. He served on the Board of Directors of the Security State Bank for over 30 years and as an Advisory Director until his death. Other business enterprises included Trapark Inc., Apache Petroleum and an independent oil and gas operation. Wendell was active in civic affairs, serving on several boards including the Reeves County Hospital Board, and as President of the Rotary Club and Pecos Valley Country Club. He spearheaded fund drives for charitable organizations including the Buffalo Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America and Shriners Crippled Children Foundation. From 1984 until 1989, Wendell served as a board member of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission and in 1986, he was honored as Disabled Texan of the Year by the Governor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities. Wendell was a Licensed Professional Engineer and a Mason. He was also an avid hunter and an outdoorsman, a legacy carried on by his sons and grandchildren. Mr. Faulkner is survived by his wife of 54 years, Janet Faulkner of Pecos; his four sons, Wendell Faulkner Jr. of Odessa, Bruce Faulkner of Tyler, Carroll Faulkner of Austin and Doug Faulkner of Cadillac, Mich.; and seven grandchildren, Sarah and Wendell Dugger III of Odessa, Campbell of Tyler, and Jennifer, James, Will and Gray of Austin. He is also survived by his mother, Bertha Arthur of Beeville; and two brothers, Royce Faulkner of Austin and Gene Faulkner of Bedford. He was preceded in death by his brother, Joe Carroll. Memorials may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of West Texas, 2303 West Wall Street, Suite 210, Midland 79701, or a charity of choice. _________________________________________________________________ Wilma McCurdy Geary ODESSA -- Graveside services for Wilma McCurdy Geary, 74, of Odessa will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Sunset Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Don Fankhauser officiating. Mrs. Geary passed away Friday, Feb. 26, 1999, at Medical Center Hospital. She was born Jan. 3, 1925, in Cumberland, Iowa. She married Ken Geary Aug. 13, 1949, in Corning, Iowa. Mrs. Geary came to Odessa in 1949 from Cumberland, Iowa. She was a consultant for General Machine & Supply Inc., and former co-owner for the past 44 years. Mrs. Geary attended Antioch Christian Church. She was preceded in death by a son, Kenneth Lee Geary in 1951. Survivors include her husband, Ken Geary of Odessa; brothers, Walter McCurdy and Calvin McCurdy, both of Messena, Iowa; and sisters, Edna Piearson of Messena, Iowa, Eleanor Kraack of Anaheim, Calif., and Marjorie Adair of Laughlin, Nev. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home. _________________________________________________________________ Nancy Royall ABILENE -- Graveside services for Nancy Royall, 48, of Odessa will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Garden of Memories Cemetery with the Rev. Ted Short officiating. Mrs. Royall died Saturday, Feb. 27, 1999, at Medical Center Hospital. She was born Oct. 7, 1950, in Dayton. She married David Steven Royall Oct. 8, 1985, in Odessa. Mrs. Royall was a longtime peace officer and a retired Detective Corporal with the Odessa Police Department. She was preceded in death by her father, Henry Clay Pennington in 1988; mother, Bella Donna Prateo Pennington in 1991. Survivors include her husband, David Steven Royall of Odessa; son, Stephen Andrew Royall of Odessa; daughters, Troy Leighberk of Amarillo, Tobi Lylle Beck of Cleveland, Texas, and Mary Elisabeth Royall of Odessa; brothers, Teddy Clay Pennington of Fort Gibson, John General Pennington of Muskogee, Okla., Stephen Odis Pennington and Wayne Douglas Pennington, both of Cleveland, Texas; grandchildren, Kalyn Nicole Payne of Amarillo, Nathan-Henry Beck and Brooklyn Faye Frazier, both of Cleveland, Texas; mother and father-in-law, Jack and Norma Hambric of Abilene. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home. _________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 1999 Odessa American. All rights reserved.