Ector Co. TX - Obits from the Odessa American Online 9 July 2000 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. July 09, 2000 Permian Basin Obituaries _________________________________________________________________ Melba Lucille Dennis ODESSA A longtime Odessa resident, Melba Lucille Dennis, 96, died Friday, July 7, 2000, at Medical Center Hospital. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Sherwood Church of Christ with Lynn Money and John Driggers officiating. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens under the direction of Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home. The eighth of nine children born to Joe Tom and Emma Dennis, Melba Lucille was born June 22, 1904, in Clyde. During her young years, her family moved back and forth several times between Clyde and Moran, traveling in horse-drawn covered wagons. The schools she attended were the typical one-room, one-teacher-for-all-grades country schools of that time period. Lucille excelled in her schoolwork and completed the ninth grade, the top level of the schools at that time. Leaving the farm in 1934, Lucille and her parents came to West Texas, first living in Crane, where she worked in a laundry and did housekeeping. During this time, Melba Lucille began to be called simply "Cil" by her family and friends and the abbreviation of her name has remained. Following her mothers death in 1936, Cil and her dad moved to Odessa where Cil began a job that would last until 1941 with the J.J. Willis family as a nanny and housekeeper. For a short period of time, 1941 to 1943, Cil worked for the Ector County Sheriffs Department as a cook for Sheriff Bill Marr and his family and also for the jail inmates. From 1943 to 1950, Cil worked at Wes-Tex Food, then located at West 10th Street and Whitaker Avenue. She cooked for the restaurant within the store and also worked as a butcher. Cil claimed to have made the very first potato salad to be served by the Odessa Chuck Wagon Gang. It seems that the Wes-Tex owners had volunteered to provide the ingredients for potato salad and it became Cils responsibility to make it. The Gang offered her the job of making potato salad for other events, but after one time of preparing it in her own home, for which she was paid $5, Cil declined this offer saying it involved more work than she was able to handle. Cils mercantile business career began in 1950 when she was employed by J.C. Penneys. In 1954, she went to work for Sears Roebuck Co. as a clerk in the linens department. Her work at Sears took her through retirement in 1969. Although officially retired, Cil was not content to stay home, so she went to work for Strike It Rich, working there until 1972. This special lady continued to be very active in giving of herself to others. She was a member of Sherwood Church of Christ where she taught childrens Bible classes for many years. She had a certain wit about her that has brought many smiles to many friends. She never met a person who did not at once become her friend. When failing health made it necessary to move to Avalon Nursing Home, Cil graciously accepted another challenge and went about spreading joy throughout the halls of Avalon. We shall all miss "Our Cil." She is survived by a host of friends, nieces and nephews, including Lavada Scott of San Antonio, Barbara Richardson of Tuscumbia, Ala., Wayne Duzan and Robert Duzan, both of Odessa, Richard Duzan of Newark, Del., and Sheila Evans of Montgomery, Ala. Memorials may be given to Odessa Christian School. Arrangements entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home. _________________________________________________________________ Mary Olene Riggs PROCTOR Mary Olene Riggs, 23, of Odessa passed away Saturday, June 24, 2000, at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth after a sudden illness. She was born in Odessa, the daughter of Juanita Riggs and the late Elmer Leroy Riggs Jr. She was formerly employed by Odessa Regional Hospital. She worked for Vision Health Specialist in Midland. Mary is survived by her mother, Juanita Riggs of Odessa; a halfsister, Pamela Riggs; her grandmother, Retha Hines of Proctor; her fiance, Lee Randolph of Midland; aunts and uncles, Katherine and George Hollowell of Lubbock, Alton Ray Hines of Wichita Falls, Paula and Wallace McDaniel of Clyde, Sally and Bill Hopkins of Odessa, Martha Johnson of Clyde, Margaret and Fillaberto Vega of Goldthwaite, JoAnn and Benny Ritter of Tenaha, Leroy Riggs of South Carolina, Kenneth Riggs and Susan Riggs, both of Westbrook, Maine; and several nieces and nephews. Services were Monday, June 26, 2000, at Hall & Sons Funeral Home Chapel. Burial was in Proctor Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were by Hall & Sons Funeral Home. _________________________________________________________________ Kayo Wolff MIDLAND He was born on March 24, 1944, in Henderson, Nev., to Daniel C. and Mary Hoskins Wolff. He was reared and educated at Paso Robles, Calif., and earned a degree in electronic engineering from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He entered the oilfield service industry where he worked for 26 years. He was employed with Baker Atlas at the time of his death. During his career, he worked in California, Louisiana and Texas. In 1994, he moved to Odessa. Mr. Wolff served in the U.S. Army in the late 1960s and early 1970s, stationed in Germany and the United States. On May 27, 1967, he married Joyce Cameron in Taft, Calif. Mr. Wolff was a member of the Permian Basin Iris Society. He died Monday morning at a local hospital. Memorial services have been scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Ellis Funeral Home with the Rev. John Rech officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Ellis Funeral Home. Survivors include his wife, Joyce Wolff of Odessa; son, Sean Wolff of Houston; daughters, Kaya Eschete and her husband, Rudy, of Houma, La., and Thea Gilliam and her husband, Doug, of Cleburne. _________________________________________________________________ ODESSA Ethel Mae Ratliff, 84, of Odessa, passed away Thursday, July 6, 2000, at Medical Center Hospital. She was born Sept. 13, 1915, in Gilliland. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Crescent Park Baptist Church with Dr. Johnny Dickerson officiating. A private family graveside service will follow at Sunset Memorial Park. Ethel was the fourth of 10 children born to Martha Ethel Barton and John Moore Chilcoat. She attended school in Truscott and graduated from Truscott High School in 1931. She met Lewis Edward Ratliff Jr. in San Angelo in 1936. They married in Eldorado in 1938. They enjoyed 60 years of marriage before Edward died in 1998. Ethel was a loving and caring woman who enjoyed her friends, her church and tending her garden. Her family has always played an important role in her life and she enjoyed being with family and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband and two sisters, Betty Elizabeth Killingsworth and Tina Estelle McClain. She is survived by her brother, John B. Chilcoat of Knox City; sisters, Ladelle Abbott of San Angelo, Connell Houston of Spur, Mayre Jo Chilcoat of Amarillo, Crystal Fannin of Amarillo, Dorothy Thomason of Spur and Gaye Barclay of Napa, Calif. Ethel was especially close to her niece, Carole Stoker and Caroles family, Ray, Craig and Cathleen, who live in Odessa and were able to help Ethel in many ways. Her nephews will be honorary pallbearers. Memorials may be sent to Crescent Park Baptist Church, 3002 E. University Blvd., Odessa, Texas, 79762, or a favorite charity. Arrangements by Frank W. Wilson Funeral Directors, www.wilsonfuneral.com. _________________________________________________________________ ODESSA John William Funk, 56, of Penwell passed away Friday, July 7, 2000, in Amarillo. Mr. Funk was born Nov. 5, 1943, in Columbus, Ga., to Joe Bill and Bets Funk. John was raised in Artesia, N.M., and was known as an avid hunter and fisherman. He married Faye Lariscey on Sept. 6, 1986, in Odessa. John was the owner of Nationwide Metals, a scrap metal and demolition company and he really loved his work. He was preceded in death by his parents and a daughter, Missy Funk. He is survived by his wife, Faye Funk of Penwell; son, Tommy Funk of Tennessee; daughters, Sherry, Jeanetta, Mikki and Billy Jo, all of Tennessee; stepdaughters, Lois Pardue and Ginger Outlaw, both of Odessa; sister, Jesse Joe Curtin of California; aunt, Margie Thigpen of Artesia, N.M.; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Craig DeArmond officiating. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Gardens under the direction of Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home. _________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2000 Odessa American. All rights reserved.