Huge Marriages Search Engine!
Richard H. Wood
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- Richard H. Wood, 55, a construction superintendent, died Tuesday, June 3, 1997, at a Fort Worth hospital.
Funeral: 7 p.m. Friday at Lucas Funeral Home in Hurst. Burial: private.
Memorials: in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Vitas Hospice Care of Fort Worth.
Richard H. Wood was born in Lawrence, Mass.
Survivors: Wife, Deborah Wood; sons, Scott and Michael Wood; daughter, Shera Rogers; parents, Warren and Peggy Wood; brother, John Wood; sister, Frances Eldridge; grandchildren, Tyler, Tara, KaTrina and Michaela Wood; and special friend, Wayne Blouin.
Lucas Funeral Home
Hurst, 284-7271
Ila Kitchen Armstrong
KELLER -- Ila Kitchen Armstrong died Wednesday, June 4, 1997, at an Arlington hospital after a brief illness. She would have celebrated her 101st birthday July 8.
Memorial service: 2 p.m. Saturday at North Fort Worth Baptist Church. Burial: in the Armstrong family plot in Crowley Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be her grandsons, Richard M. Browning, M.D., Don L. Biles III, David A. Watson, A. Montgomery Biles, Douglas T. Watson, Thomas R. Fruman, Michael A. Armstrong and Benjamin N. Armstrong. Mrs. Armstrong's nephew, John Adams, M.D., and her pastor, the Rev. John Redford, will officiate at the services at North Fort Worth Baptist Church.
Memorials: Tokens of memory may be presented to the North Fort Worth Woman's Club Scholarship Fund to the attention of Ms. Freda Rodgers, president. The club is at 1522 Rockwood Lane, Fort Worth, Texas 76114. The Texas Chrysanthemum Society has created a memorial in her name for its membership to be used for the 1999 show.
Ila Kitchen Armstrong was born in Belton, Texas, on July 8, 1896, to William Columbus Kitchen and Theodocia Petrolia Pool Kitchen, both of early pioneer families.
Mrs. Armstrong spent her early childhood years in Smithfield, Texas, then moved with her family to north Fort Worth, where her father was a well- known Realtor for many years. She was valedictorian of her class at North Fort Worth High School, then attended Texas Christian University, North Texas State Normal School (now the University of North Texas) and the College of Industrial Arts (now Texas Woman's University). She taught English and homemaking in the Everman and Fort Worth schools until her marriage in 1923, after which she and her husband operated farms in Burleson, Avondale, Grapevine and Keller, where she has resided since 1939.
Ila and Thurman raised five children: Eleanor Browning, a teacher; Drew Watson, an education consultant; Marian Armstrong, a teacher; Ann Armstrong, an attorney; and Andrew Armstrong, a consulting chemist. Among her 11 grandchildren are artists, chemists, engineers, physicians, teachers and other professionals.
Throughout her long life Mrs. Armstrong was very active in her community. She was a leader in Extension Service projects and taught Sunday school and vacation Bible school at First Baptist Church in Haslet. She was a charter member and officer of the Keller Garden Club, a member and officer of the Fort Worth Garden Club, a member of the board for the Garden Club Council of Fort Worth District II and the Texas Garden Club Inc. and a charter member of the Texas Chrysanthemum Society. She won many ribbons and honors in flower shows throughout Texas, both for floral arrangements and for her own specimen blooms and plants. At the age of 92, she became a candidate judge for the National Chrysanthemum Society. She completed her judge's requirements in one year -- a challenge that normally takes candidates three years to complete -- and had the highest score for all candidates that year. Mrs. Armstrong judged flower shows even in her 100th year, and traveled throughout the United States in that capacity. Having designed the landscaping for her own home, Mrs. Armstrong was known for her lectures in landscape design and planting in the North Texas environment.
A longtime member of the North Fort Worth Woman's Club, Mrs. Armstrong chaired the committee to select students to receive the Woman's Club Scholarships at its inception and continued to serve on that committee for many years. She was a member of North Fort Worth Baptist Church and a benefactor of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Mrs. Armstrong was also a benefactor of the American Association of University Women.
Mrs. Armstrong was a Realtor and a licensed real estate broker for nearly 50 years. She was a recognized expert on tracts of land in north Tarrant County and Denton County.
Mrs. Armstrong delighted in travel. She traveled to most of the American states, visiting relatives and friends, touring historical sites, attending conventions and researching family history. She visited the Middle East several times, cruised the Mediterranean, traveled to the Scandinavian countries and, in 1994, traveled to New Zealand and Australia.
She was an accomplished craftswoman, needleworker and hostess. Her home reflected her talents and interests and she used it extensively to entertain guests at luncheons and dinners up to her final illness.
Mrs. Armstrong was preceded in death by her husband, Andrew Thurman Armstrong, in 1943; and daughters, Marian Louise Armstrong, in 1950, and Eleanor Gertrude Armstrong Browning, in 1969. Her sisters, Edna Kitchen Baird, Irene Kitchen Adams and Cora Kitchen Jones, and brother, Carr Pool Kitchen, also preceded her in death.
Survivors: Daughters, Elizabeth Drew Armstrong Watson of Naperville, Ill., Alice Ann Armstrong of Grass Valley, Calif.; son, Andrew Thurman Armstrong of Arlington; 11 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Thompson's Harveson & Cole
702 Eighth Ave., 336-0345
Hubert Beard
MANSFIELD -- James Hubert Beard, 82, a lifelong resident of Mansfield, died Thursday, June 5, 1997, at his home following a lengthy illness.
Funeral: 2 p.m. Sunday at Blessing Funeral Home in Mansfield. Burial: Bratton Section of Mansfield Cemetery. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Jesse Wayne Howard, a longtime friend, and Grady King, former minister of the Mansfield Church of Christ, will officiate.
Pallbearers will be John Paul "Doodle" Watson, Burl Watson, James Feagley, T.G. Ackerman, H.E. Baxter and Eddie Harris.
Memorials: if so desired, memorials may be made to the Mansfield Church of Christ Building Fund or Mansfield Volunteer Fire Department.
Hubert Beard was born Nov. 23, 1914, in Mansfield, the son of William Thomas and Susie Cox Beard. He married Helen Elizabeth Chorn on June 24, 1934, in Marietta, Okla. Mr. Beard was retired from General Dynamics as an electrician, was a charter member of the Mansfield Fire Department, was a survivor of the 1968 Red Ball Explosion and served on the Mansfield Independent School Board from 1954 to 1959 and the Mansfield City Council from 1963 to 1965. After retirement from General Dynamics, he was a funeral director's assistant at Blessing Funeral Home.
Survivors: Wife of 62 years, Helen Beard of Mansfield; daughters, Phyllis Looney and husband, Bobby, and Betty Clark, all of Mansfield; sister, Fannie Usrey of Kennedale; brother, Bill Beard of Mansfield; grandchildren, Mike and David Looney of Mansfield, Valerie Siggers of Crowley, Rex Clark of Mansfield, and Lisa Gonsalez and Allison Smith of Venus; and 13 great-grandchildren.
Blessing Funeral Home
Mansfield, 473-1555
Mickey Jo Beavers
MINERAL WELLS -- Mickey Jo Beavers, 44, a children's day care worker, died Thursday, June 5, 1997, at her residence.
Funeral: 2 p.m. Monday at Baum- Carlock-Bumgardner Funeral Home. Burial: East Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford.
Mickey Jo Beavers was born April 2, 1953, in Mineral Wells. She was a member of the Church of Christ.
Survivors: Husband, Glyn Beavers of Mineral Wells; sons, Rickiey McNiel Jr. of Weatherford and Eric McNiel, Chance McNiel and Teddy Beavers, all of Mineral Wells; daughter, Dawn Polvadore of Mineral Wells; mother, Irene Ware of Athens, Ala.; sister and brother-in-law, Kathy and Ralph "Tooter" Bates of Athens, Ala.; six grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Baum-Carlock-Bumgardner
Mineral Wells, (940) 325-4422
Raymond C. Boone
CLAIRETTE -- Raymond C. "Ray" Boone, 78, a construction worker 30 years and a peanut farmer 20 years, died Thursday, June 5, 1997, in Stephenville.
Funeral: 2 p.m. Sunday at Stephenville Funeral Home. Burial: Gardens of Memory.
Raymond Boone was born May 7, 1919, in San Angelo.
He was a member of the Washington Street Baptist Church of Stephenville and a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason.
He was preceded in death by a grandson, Fred N. Wilson III, on April 29, 1960.
Survivors: Wife, Jessie Mildred Boone of Clairette; sons, Bob and Sharon Boone of Stephenville; daughter, Joan and Fred Wilson of Stephenville; sisters, Willie Louise Brister of Weatherford, Dorothy Evelyn Reavis of Reedsport, Ore., Doris Jeshow of Vance, Mary Huckaby of San Angelo and Eloise Gallagher of Grand Prairie; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Stephenville Funeral Home
Stephenville, (254) 965-3161
Juanita Bower
ARLINGTON -- Juanita Bower, 80, a homemaker, died Thursday, June 5, 1997, in Arlington.
Graveside service: 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Moore Memorial Gardens.
Memorials: Missionary support through Bethel Baptist Church, 506 E. Randol Mill Rd., Arlington, Texas 76011.
Juanita Bower was born July 28, 1916, in Sapulpa, Okla. She was a resident of Arlington for 25 years, and a former resident of Shawnee, Okla.
Survivors: Daughters, Mary Ann Cantrell of Arlington and Betty Sheldon of Cincinnati, Ohio; four grandchildren, Melinda, Michelle, Leanne and Ann Marie; and five great-grandchildren.
Arlington Funeral Home
1221 E. Division, 548-1791
Ras P. Coffman
BOYD -- Ras P. Coffman, 70, a switching technician for Southwestern Bell, died Wednesday, June 4, 1997, at a Dallas hospital.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of Boyd. Burial: Boyd Cemetery.
Ras P. Coffman was born Oct. 5, 1926, in Marysville, Texas. He served in the Army during World War II. Mr. Coffman was a member of First Baptist Church of Boyd, where he was a deacon.
Survivors: Wife of 40 years, Jo Ann Coffman of Boyd; sons, Scott Coffman of Soldotna, Alaska, Steven Coffman of Decatur and Bruce Coffman of Fort Worth; brother, Ralph Coffman of Gainesville; sister, Bill Gipson of Fort Worth; and two grandchildren.
Christian-Hawkins Funeral Home
Boyd, (940) 433-5310
James W. Crouch Sr.
ARLINGTON -- James W. Crouch Sr., 76, a noted Arlington educator and friend to thousands of area young people, passed away Thursday, June 5, 1997, in Arlington after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Funeral: 1:30 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church of Arlington. Burial: Laurel Land Memorial Park of Fort Worth.
Memorials: First United Methodist Church of Arlington, American Cancer Society or the Crouch Scholarship at Arlington High School.
Born Feb. 13, 1921, in Fort Worth, James Crouch was raised in Roanoke and graduated from Texas A&M in 1942. He remained a proud, spirited "Old Aggie" his entire life and supported his alma mater with multiple endowments and great enthusiasm.
Upon graduation, he accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army, married Maydelle Patrick of Paris, Texas, and served as a captain of the 3756th Truck Company during World War II. His war experiences actually began his teaching career and solidified many of the personal philosophies that he would apply in his years as an educator. He believed that leaders are always teachers and must treat others with respect and dignity, listen to the people entrusted to them, trust the people to whom they delegate authority and seek to develop the innate talents in every person with whom they have contact.
Returning from the war, he ran dairy farms in Fort Worth and Burleson.
With encouragement from his wife, who was a French and English teacher, he returned to school to become certified as a teacher. Both Crouches taught at Arlington High School from 1958 to 1963 before helping establish Sam Houston High School in 1963. James Crouch was assistant principal at Sam Houston from its inception to 1970; he and Maydelle were instrumental in building many of the traditions that endure to this day, and the school yearbook was dedicated to them both during their tenure there.
In 1970, he was named principal at Arlington High School, a position from which he retired in 1985 after 15 years of guiding young people through that institution. Known for his energetic, animated speeches at pep rallies, he introduced the phrase "How sweet it is to be in Colt Country" and frequently stripped off his bright green sport coat to reveal a Colt T-shirt underneath. He was loved by students and teachers alike and known for his accessibility and fairness. When he retired, the Senior Class presented the Crouches with a trip to Hawaii as a token of their esteem.
In November 1996, the Arlington Independent School District named and dedicated an east side elementary school to James and Maydelle Crouch, an honor that James Crouch considered the ultimate tribute from the community.
Mr. Crouch was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Maydelle, and his first child, Patrick Leroy Crouch.
Survivors: His son and daughter-in- law, Jim and Marty Crouch of Dallas; his daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Denny Halwes of Arlington; his grandchildren, Shawn Halwes, a student at Texas A&M, and Renee Halwes Burt of Austin; his brother, Robert Crouch of Dublin, Texas; and his sisters, Annie Mae Hancock and Virginia Turner, both of Dublin.
Arlington Funeral Home
1221 E. Division, 548-1791
Thelma V. Dean
WHITE SETTLEMENT -- Thelma V. Dean, 85, a homemaker, died Thursday, June 5, 1997, at a Fort Worth hospital.
Funeral: 10 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Funeral Home. Graveside service: 3 p.m. Saturday in Sonora Cemetery in Fairlie.
Pallbearers: Ray Decker, Damon Brooks, Bill Vandever, Glade Dowdy, Mitchell Dowdy and Byron Davis.
Thelma Dean was born Sept. 19, 1911, in Navarro County.
She was "Granny" to family and friends. She was a member of Southside Baptist Church of Granbury. She lived the last five years in White Settlement and the previous eight years in Granbury. She was a longtime Dallas resident. She exhibited a lifelong love of reading, game shows and games, especially skipbo, dominoes and Yahtzee. She'd cook wonderful home cooked meals for anyone who stopped by for a visit. And, she made the most delicious banana cake. People couldn't get enough of it. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother who loved the company of family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas J. "T.J." Dean.
Survivors: Daughter, Peggy Dean Bramlett of Granbury; five granddaughters, Kathy and Damon Brooks of Dallas, Becky Bramlett of Fort Worth, Vicki Bramlett of White Settlement, Paula and Ray Decker of White Settlement and Patti Bramlett of Austin; niece, Janie and Coy Cherry of Seneca, S. C.; two great-granddaughters, April McKenzie and Amanda Rippetoe, both of White Settlement; one great-great- granddaughter, Jasmine McKenzie of White Settlement; and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
Memorial Funeral Home
1207 S. Cherry Lane, 246-4988
Eugene Dockstader
FORT WORTH -- Eugene Dockstader, 60, a self-employed architect, died Wednesday, June 4, 1997, in Fort Worth.
Funeral: 10 a.m. Saturday at Central Christian Church. Burial: Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Memorials: Family Hospice.
Eugene Dockstader was born Nov. 22, 1936, in Fort Worth. He graduated from Carter High School in 1955 and then went on to graduate from Texas Tech in 1960. He was an award-winning architect and a member of the American Institute of Architecture (AIA). He was a member of Central Christian Church.
Survivors: Wife, Donna Dockstader of Fort Worth; son, Damon Dockstader of Fort Worth; mother, Minnie Dockstader of Fort Worth; brother, Lea Wayne Dockstader of Aledo; and numerous cousins, aunts and uncles.
Mount Olivet Funeral Home
2301 N. Sylvania Ave., 831-0511
