Potter Co. TX - Obits from the Amarillo newspapers 23 May 2002 Thanks to http://www.amarillonet.com/ for permission to upload their obits to the USGenWeb Archives. Copyright, http://www.amarillonet.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/ *********************************************************************** All Obits - Text Only Area Vernis Parsons HEREFORD - Vernis Parsons, 98, died Wednesday, May 22, 2002, in Amarillo. Graveside services will be at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Rest Lawn Cemetery with the Rev. Terry Cosby of First Baptist Church officiating. Arrangements are by Gililland-Watson Funeral Home. Mrs. Parsons was born Jan. 3, 1904, in Palo Pinto County. She married Grady Parsons on Aug. 23, 1922, Clarendon. She was preceded in death by a son, Harold Parsons in 1945. Survivors include a son, Jack Parsons of Amarillo; a daughter, Ella Mae Sweeney of Amarillo; a sister, Berta Mae Patterson of Lubbock; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to Hereford Senior Citizens; or First Baptist Church of Hereford. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until service time Friday at the funeral home. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 LaRita Raye Stone CANADIAN - LaRita Raye Stone, 69, died Tuesday, May 21, 2002. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday in First Baptist Church with Dinzel Leonard and Jerry Golden, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Edith Ford Memorial Cemetery by Stickley-Hill Funeral Directors. Mrs. Stone married R.L. Stone on Jan. 6, 1951, in Raton, N.M. She was a member of First Baptist Church and Canadian Ladies Golf Association. Survivors include her husband; her mother, Pi Adamson of Canadian; two children, Danny Stone and wife, June, of Katy and Judy Davis and husband, Jerry, of Collinsville; four grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Howard Leo Preston CHILDRESS - Howard Leo Preston, 84, died Tuesday, May 21, 2002. Services will be at 4 p.m. Friday in Central Christian Church with the Rev. Jim West of the church and the Rev. John Givens of Lubbock officiating. Burial will be in Childress Cemetery by Johnson Funeral Home. Mr. Preston was born March 15, 1918, in Childress. He married Delois Stockstill on Sept. 21, 1946, in Childress. Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Phyllis Preston of Childress; a son, Barry Preston of Dallas; a sister, Dorothy Cox of Seagraves; and a grandson. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Andy Keyes HEREFORD - Andy Keyes, 82, died Monday, May 20, 2002. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday in Gililland-Watson Funeral Home Rose Chapel with the Rev. Jim Bulin of Avenue Baptist Church officiating. Burial will be in West Park Cemetery. Mr. Keyes was born April 12, 1920, in Stratford. He married Perry Williams on Nov. 3, 1945, in Liberty. Survivors include his wife; two sons, Thad Keyes of Hereford and Jeff Keyes of Lubbock; three daughters, Kathy Paschel of Hereford, Mary Schilling of Slaton and Linda Powroznik of Belen, N.M.; three sisters, Mary Clay of Harlingen, Elizabeth McClanahan of Canyon Lake and Kay Printy of Groves; 10 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to Avenue Baptist Church; or Hereford EMS Ambulance Fund. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Oklahoma Okla Irene McQuigg ARNETT, Okla. - Okla Irene McQuigg, 95, died Tuesday, May 21, 2002, in Shattuck. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday in Arnett United Methodist Church with Dr. Jene Miller officiating. Burial will be in DeBolt Cemetery by Mason Funeral Home. Mrs. McQuigg was a homemaker and loved making quilts and crocheting doilies to give to her family. Survivors include three sons, Sanford McQuigg of Kingston, H. Eugene McQuigg of Tyler, Texas, and Joseph McQuigg of Trenton, N.J.; four daughters, Jolene Neu of Plains, Kan., Noreta Steddum of Pampa, Texas, Daisy Bennett of Bastrop, Texas, and Idelma Dunnihoo of Shattuck; 21 grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to Arnett United Methodist Church. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Lester Sturman SAPULPA, Okla. - Lester Sturman, 89, died Monday, May 20, 2002, in Tulsa. Services will be at 2 p.m. today in Westside Freewill Baptist Church with the Rev. Millard McGuire and the Rev. Mike Boggo officiating. Burial will be in Duck Creek Cemetery near Liberty Mounds by Wesley Smith Funeral Home. Mr. Sturman was born Feb. 9, 1913, in Ava, Mo. He lived in Amarillo 30 years while working for Phillips Petroleum. Survivors include his wife, Bertie; three children, Freddie Sturman of Alaska, Pat Roscoe of Amarillo, Texas, and Doyle Sturman of Houston; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a brother, Engle Sturman of Mounds. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Beulah Elizabeth Hill EDMOND, Okla. - Beulah Elizabeth Hill, 87, died Tuesday, May 21, 2002. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements are by Matthews Funeral Home. Mrs. Hill was born July 20, 1914, in Edmond. She owned and operated Beulahs Ceramics in Amarillo, Texas, for more than 40 years. Survivors include three daughters, Carol Ann Johnson, Barbara Vincent and Sherry Stills, all of Edmond; 11 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; and nine great-great-grandchildren. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Elsewhere Louise Bruce Bell MIDLAND - Louise Bruce Bell, 79, died Friday, May 17, 2002, in Denison. Services will be at 10 a.m. today in St. Paul United Methodist Church with the Rev. Robert Kirk officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery by Ellis Funeral Home. Mrs. Bell was born June 25, 1922, in Ranger. She had lived in Midland for more than 50 years. Survivors include a son, Andy Bruce of Houston; a daughter, Dixie Dorene Bruce of Amarillo; a stepson, Bruce O. Bell of Amarillo; a brother, Bobby Dodd of Fort Pierce, Fla.; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Dorothy Black FRANKLIN - Dorothy Black, 77, died Monday, May 20, 2002, in Bryan. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in McCauley Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Black Family Cemetery in Robertson County. Mrs. Black was born May 12, 1925, in White County. She married Lake Black on Nov. 22, 1944, in Amarillo. Survivors include two sons, Lance Black of Richwood and Roderick Black of McKinney; a sister, Devene Walker of Buchanan Dam; a brother, John Ray of Amarillo; and three grandchildren. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Amarillo Mildred Boehning Breedlove Mildred Boehning Breedlove, 90, formerly of Amarillo died Sunday, May 19, 2002, in El Paso. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday in Brooks Funeral Directors Chapel in Canyon with the Rev. Terry Meyer, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church of Canyon, officiating. Burial will be in Dreamland Cemetery. Mrs. Breedlove was born March 1, 1912, in Chicago. She lived in the Panhandle area for most of her life before moving to El Paso. Survivors include a daughter, Florence Gann of Burkburnett; a son, Carl Boehning of El Paso; a brother, Lawrence Boehning of Amarillo; eight grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-granddaughter. The family suggests memorials be to a favorite charity. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Alta A. Moore Byars Alta A. Moore Byars, 91, of Amarillo died Sunday, May 19, 2002. Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Polk Street United Methodist Church with Dr. Jim Garrett officiating. Private family burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery by N.S. Griggs and Sons Funeral Directors, 2615 Paramount Blvd. Mrs. Byars was born May 7, 1911, near Croswell, Mich. Her family moved from Michigan to Amarillo in 1928. She graduated from Amarillo High School in 1930 and married J.R. Moore in 1931. She married Lloyd Byars in 1972. One of her joys in life was teaching Sunday school. She taught more than 70 years at Polk Street and Buchanan Street United Methodist churches. She taught Bible lessons on Saturday mornings for several years at Olsen Manor Nursing Home. She enjoyed reading and book reviews. She served as president of Polk Street United Methodist Women, Church Women United and Amarillo Federation of Women's Clubs. She was a member of Amarillo Chapter 787 Order of the Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, Amarillo Chapter Beauceant and Amarillo Retired Teachers Association. She retired from Amarillo Independent School District after working as a school secretary at Will Rogers Elementary and Palo Duro High School. She was preceded in death by her first husband in 1968; her second husband in 1999; three sisters; two brothers; a grandson; and a great-grandson. Survivors include a son, Doyle Moore and wife, Doris, of Amarillo; a daughter, LaRae Browne and husband, Wayne, of Amarillo; a stepson, Duane Byars and wife, Sandy of Ruidoso, N.M.; two stepdaughters, Lloyd Dean Gower and husband, Richard, of Amarillo and De Rema Sears and husband, Rene, of Arlington; three grandchildren, Diane Martyn of Lexington, Ky., Pam Browne of Amarillo and Janna Arps of Plano; seven stepgrandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to Polk Street United Methodist Church; BSA Hospice or a favorite charity. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Joan Hill M. Joan Hill, 75, of Amarillo died Tuesday, May 21, 2002. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Schooler-Gordon Funeral Directors Bell Avenue Chapel, 5400 S. Bell St., with Travis LaDuke, retired pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Llano Cemetery. Mrs. Hill was born in St. Catherine, Mo., on Sept. 6, 1926. She married Kenneth Hill in February 1945. They moved to Amarillo in 1968 to build and operate K-N Root Beer Drive-in. After a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1979, she retired and focused her energies on family and friends, giving an abundance of love and happiness to all she knew. She enjoyed life dearly. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1994. Survivors include a son, Tom Hill and wife, Pat, of Fresno, Calif.; four daughters, Linda Turner and husband, Sam, of Bedford, Julie Baker and husband, Jim Bob, of Keller, and Sue Hill and Donna Barton, both of Amarillo; a brother, Roy Cagle of Marceline, Mo.; six grandchildren, Ryan Haygood of Dallas, Troy Baker and Tracey Baker, both of Keller, and Jacqueline Hill, Alyssa Hill and Alec Hill, all of Fresno; and many nieces and nephews. They were the light of her life. The family suggests memorials be to BSA Hospice. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Ross W. Wilson Ross W. Wilson, 85, of Amarillo died Monday, May 20, 2002. Services will be at 11 a.m. today in First Baptist Church with Dr. Howard Batson and Dr. Winfred Moore officiating. Private family burial will take place. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S. Georgia St. Mr. Wilson was born Aug. 20, 1916, in Texhoma, Okla., and spent most of his early years in Amarillo. At age 14, he moved to Groom to live with an uncle. In 1934, he enrolled at West Texas State College in Canyon. In an article in the spring 2000 WT Foundation newsletter, Mr. Wilson said, "I enrolled at WT on faith and prayer, not knowing where I would live or what I would do." He recalled that he sold his bicycle to pay tuition. He lived in a professor's co-op and took his turn cooking and cleaning to pay for his room and board. Mr. Wilson earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. A year later, he earned his master's degree at the University of Tennessee. He married the former Ora Mae Harris of Claude on June 1, 1939. After graduation, he began a series of teaching jobs in Texas and New Mexico. In 1941, he began working for Shamrock Oil and Gas Co. near Sunray as a research chemist. More than a year later he enlisted in the Army and was sent to meteorology school at Grand Rapids, Mich. He graduated from the school in the fall of 1943 as a second lieutenant. He was discharged from the Army as a captain in the spring of 1946. From 1946 to 1951, he worked at the Bureau of Mines helium plant in Amarillo, where he was head of the helium liquefaction section. From 1951 to 1956, he worked for Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. as a process engineer at its plant in Tuscola, Ill. He was a new developments engineer from 1956 to 1961 for Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co. in Kansas City, Mo. In 1961, he established the National Helium Corporation in Liberal, Kan. In a speech, Mr. Wilson said, "Congress, at that time, was rewriting the Helium Act so as to permit the large helium conservation program. I made some suggestions that were incorporated into the final bill. "I surveyed the Panhandle Gas supply for helium and prepared the response to the government invitation for bids to supply helium for the conservation program." He served as vice president, executive vice president and president of National Helium until his retirement in 1981. He married Hazel Kelley in 1984. The couple enjoyed traveling and photography became his favorite hobby. He was a longtime member of First Baptist Church of Amarillo. He became a consultant to Ken Kelly at Jack B. Kelley Inc. in 1985. He and his wife worked side-by-side in the Kelley family business. Along with his wife Hazel Kelley Wilson, Mr. Wilson was a noted philanthropist and community volunteer. He endowed the Ross W. Wilson Science and Engineering Chair at WT with a $250,000 gift in honor of his first wife, Ora Mae Harris Wilson, a 1938 honor graduate of WT, and Dr. Charles Pierle, a WT chemistry professor from 1922 to 1954. During his time at WT, Mr. Wilson was a chemistry assistant to Pierle. Mr. Wilson served on the WT Foundation Board. He was a member of the President's Circle, WT Alumni Association, the Phoenix Club and the Foundation for Buffalo Athletics. WT President Russell Long said he remembers Mr. Wilson as a "delightful person" who took an interest in WT's programs, faculty and students. Long said Mr. Wilson regularly attended university functions. "WT has had very few friends who were as strong and as supportive as Ross Wilson," Long said. "The entire university will feel the loss." Batson, pastor of First Baptist Church of Amarillo, said Mr. Wilson was a generous, gentle and steady member of the church. "He had the ability to put those around him at ease," Batson said. "He had a wonderful spirit of Christ and of humility." Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Annette Wilson of Liberal, Kan.; a son, Jim Wilson of Wichita, Kan.; two stepdaughters, Sharon Kelley Oeschger of Amarillo and Judy Kelley Morgan of Texarkana; a stepson, Ken Kelley of Amarillo; 13 grandchildren, Kevin Armstrong, Eric Armstrong, Jeremiah Wilson and Christopher Wilson, all of Liberal, Kan., Matt Morgan and Jeff Morgan, both of Oklahoma City, Kristin Harris, Bryson Oeschger, Bryan Kelley and Taylor Kelley, all of Amarillo, and Shelby Morgan, Haven Morgan and Ryan Morgan, all of Texarkana; and six great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials be to Ross W. Wilson Chair in Science and Engineering in care of WTAMU Foundation, P.O. Box 60766, Canyon, TX 79016. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 Lillie Beatrice Smith Lillie Beatrice Smith, 84, of Amarillo died Wednesday, May 22, 2002. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Memorial Park Funeral Home Chapel of Memories, 6969 E. Interstate 40, with Brent Adams of Southwest Church of Christ and Don Stone of White Deer Church of Christ in White Deer officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery. Mrs. Smith was born in Post. She married James Phillip "JP" Smith on Sept. 19, 1936, in Amarillo. She was a homemaker and a member of Southwest Church of Christ. She was formerly of Fritch. Survivors include her husband; a sister, Lucy Dalton of Littlefield; and two brothers, Oliver Boyce of Stanton and Damon Boyce of Gainsville. The family suggests memorials be to High Plains Children's Home, P.O. Box 7448, Amarillo, TX 79114. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to noon Friday at the funeral home. Amarillo Globe-News, May 23, 2002 This story printed from the Amarillo Globe-News Online at amarillonet.com: http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/052302/obi_ob052302-15.shtml