Today's Obituaries (Oct. 7, 1997)

John Carter

John Thompson Carter, 86, died Sunday at his residence in Abilene.

Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church Chapel in Abilene with Dr. Phil Christopher officiating.

Burial will be in Elmwood Memorial Park under direction of Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 542 Hickory.

Mr. Carter was born in Fort Worth. He attended public schools in Fort Worth and Crowell, graduating from Crowell High School in 1928. He married Mary Lucy Montgomery in 1936, and moved to Abilene from Dalhart in 1947.

Mr. Carter retired from West Texas Utilities after a 44-1/2-year career. He was manager of the data processing department.

Mr. Carter was preceded in death by his wife.

Survivors include three daughters, Jan Brown of Arlington, Saundra Zieg of Lincoln, Neb., and Vicki Carter Johnson of Abilene; 12 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Maude Wolfe

CLYDE - Maude O. Wolfe, 92, of Dallas and formerly of Clyde, died Saturday at a Dallas care center.

Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Bailey Funeral Home Chapel in Clyde with the Rev. Mike Whisnant officiating. Burial will follow in the Dudley Cemetery under direction of Bailey Funeral Home.

Mrs. Wolfe was born in Indian Territory before Oklahoma became a state. She had lived in various places from Louisiana to Arizona and had spent most of her life in Cloudy, Okla., Dudley, Dallas and Clyde.

She married Mack Wolfe in 1919. She was a housewife and a member of First Assembly of God. She moved to Dallas from Clyde in 1967.

Survivors include one stepdaughter, Grace Hash of Abilene; 33 grandchildren; 65 great-grandchildren; and numerous great-great-grandchildren.

Jay Dee Smith

BROWNWOOD- Jay Dee Smith, 89, of Brownwood, died Saturday in a local nursing home.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Heartland Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. R.J. Elkins officiating. Burial will be in Eastlawn Memorial Park.

Mr. Smith was born in McCulloch County and married Alta Rae Jolly in 1939 in San Angelo. He was a farmer and a Baptist.

Survivors include four sons, Jimmy Smith of San Angelo, Billy Smith of Burleson, Joe Smith of Brownwood and Marvin Smith of Fort Worth; one daughter, Sally Ballard of Austin; 17 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. His wife, Alta, preceded him in death in 1994. William

M. "Bill" Tubbs

ANSON - William M. Bill Tubbs, 87, died Sunday in Anson. Services will be at 2 p.m. today in First Baptist Church directed by the Revs. Lee Welch and Jerry Pittman officiating. Burial will be in Mount Hope Cemetery directed by Lawrence-Adams Funeral Home.

Mr. Tubbs was born in Jones County and attended rural Jones County schools. He lived 60 years on the family farm before moving to Anson in 1993. He was a farmer and dairyman who also worked for Anson cotton gins and the Texas highway Department before retiring in 1975.

He married Milor Clark in 1933 in Anson and was a member of First Baptist Church.

Survivors include his wife, of Anson; one daughter, Betty Lunday of Anson; one sister, Traleta Jenkins of Anson; seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Cynthia Wingrove Lyon

SNYDER - Cynthia Wingrove Lyon of Snyder died Sunday in a local hospital. Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home with Tom Holcomb of Eastside Church of Christ officiating. Burial will be in Elmwood Memorial Park in Abilene.

She was born in McCalister, Okla., and married William Steven Lyon in 1933. He died in 1987. Mrs. Lyon was a schoolteacher and a member of Eastside Church of Christ. She was active in the Women of ACU.

Survivors include one son, Bill Lyon of Snyder; one daughter, Linda Salazar of Jacksonville, Texas; three sisters, Maxine Wingrove and Betty Lowe, both of Wimberley; and Patricia Churchwell of Brenham; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Hazel Lavinia Kelly

CLYDE - Hazel Lavinia Kelly, 65, of Clyde died Monday at a local hospital.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Bailey Funeral Home Chapel. Graveside services will be held at 3 p.m. in the Necessity Cemetery, south of Breckenridge, under the direction of the Bailey Funeral Home.

Mrs. Kelly was born in Breckenridge. She married Leonard Wade Kelly Sr. in 1975. They moved to Clyde in 1980 from Abilene. Until her retirement, she was the owner and operator of a day care center and was a member of the Baptist Church.

She is survived by her husband of Clyde; four sons, Gary Frank Sanders of Clyde, Timothy Lee Sanders of Munday, Leonard Wade Kelly, Jr., and James Roy Kelly, both of Clyde; three daughters, Kathy Wimberly, Doris Laverne McGinnis and Ruby Dell Doty, all of Clyde; one sister, Mrs. Laun (Eva) Templeton of Plano; 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Gerald Dempsey

RANGER - Gerald Dempsey, 54, of Ranger, died Sunday at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in Eastland with Dr. Tom Goodman officiating. Burial will be in Bullock Cemetery under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home in Eastland.

Mr. Dempsey was born and reared in Ranger. He also attended Gallaudet College for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., was a house parent at the Maryland School for the Deaf in Maryland and he attended electronics school in Austin. He married Anita Comstock in 1971. Mr. Dempsey worked for Terra Firma Tile Co. in Cisco in maintenance and for Thrift Mart Supermarket in Eastland stocking and sacking.

Survivors include his wife, Anita Dempsey, of Ranger; his daughter, Paula McDowell of Clyde; his sister, Carolyn Allen of Stephenville; and two grandchildren, Amber and Johnny McDowell of Clyde.

Family will have a visitation at the funeral home in Eastland from 7 to 9 p.m. today. Memorials may be sent in lieu of flowers to the First Baptist Church of Eastland to be used for other cancer patients and the Bullock Cemetery Association Fund.

Gabino Diaz

HASKELL - Gabino Andrada Diaz, 87, longtime Haskell County laborer and a decorated veteran of World War II, died Sunday at a Haskell care home.

Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Saint George Catholic Church with Father Michael Melcher official. Burial will be in Willow Cemetery under direction of Holden-McCauley Funeral Directors.

Born in Granger, Texas, he earned two Bronze Stars for bravery during World War II. He also earned a Purple Heart for wounds suffered in combat.

He married Evangelina Diaz here in 1963. He was a farm laborer and a member of the Catholic church.

Survivors include his wife of Haskell; two sons, Leroy Diaz of Lake Jackson and Ruben Diaz of Haskell; a daughter, Irma Muniz of Rule; two stepchildren, Julian Bentura of Kennedy, Texas, and Maria Hernandez of Norwalk, Ohio; two foster children, Terry and Jerry Snelling of Haskell; one brother, Andres Diaz of Ralls; one sister, Marcelina Diaz Ortiz of Farmsville, Calif.; four grandchidlren and three stepgrandchildren.

D.B. Williams

BROWNWOOD - D.B. Williams, 76, retired production superintendent for BTA Oil Production Co., died Sunday night in an Abilene hospital.

Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday in First Baptist Church of Brady. Masonic graveside services and burial will be in Camp San Saba Cemetery in McCulloch County under direction of Davis-Morris Funeral Home.

Mr. Williams will lie in state at the Brady church from 11 a.m. until service time on Wednesday.

He was born in McCulloch County and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He married Margaret Sutton in Abilene in 1962. He moved to Brownwood two months ago from Midland, where he had lived for the past 10 years.

He was a Baptist and a member of the Camp San Saba Masonic Lodge.

Survivors include his wife of the home; two sons, Jody Williams of Combine, Texcas, and David L. Farmer of Houston; a daughter, Margaret Cloud of Brownwood; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and three sisters, Mary McAlpine of Midland, Dot Long of Kerrville and Margaruite Neal of Brady.

Lydia Beard

ANDERSON, Ind. - Lydia A. Beard, 84, a native of Ballinger and former resident of Abilene, died Sunday at her home here following a lengthy illness.

Funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at South Meridian Church of God in Anderson with the Rev. Dale Landis officiating. Burial will be in Grove Lawn Cemetery at Pendleton, Ind., under direction of Owens Funeral Home of Alexandria. Visitation will be from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

She was born in Ballinger, and married William H. Beard in 1940 in Ballinger. They moved here from Abilene in 1965. He died in 1996.

She was a homemaker and a member of South Meridian Church of God. She served in many capacities in her church, retiring a year ago from being church librarian. Her family and her church were her life. She wrote two books on her family history.

Survivors include three daughters, Carol McQuirk of Menlo Park, Calif. Jennie McCoy and Patti Baker, both of Anderson; one son, Bill Beard of Page, Ariz.; two sisters, Lena Bounds of Ballinger, and Ruth Mohn, of Louisville, Ohio; nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; two brothers, John Courvisier of Phoenix, Ariz., and Frank Courvisier of Middletown, Ohio.

Memorial contributions may be made to Liberty Christian School, 2323 Columbus, Ave. in Anderson.

Howard Hill

Howard Lee Hill, 89, of Abilene died Monday at a local nursing center. Services are pending with Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 5701 Highway 277 South.

Clyde Hollingsworth

SWEETWATER - Clyde O. Hollingsworth, 88, of Tucson, Ariz., formerly of Sweetwater, died Saturday in Tuscon. Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Cate-Spencer & Trent Funeral Home with burial in Sweetwater Cemetery.

Inez Cornelius

EASTLAND - Inez Cornelius, 95, of Eastland died Monday at an Eastland hospital. Services are pending with Bakker Funeral Home.

Joyce McKeehan

COMANCHE - Joyce McKeehan, 84, of Comanche died Sunday at a local nursing home. Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at De Leon First Baptist Church. Burial will be in Sipe Springs Cemetery under the direction of Nowlin Funeral Home.

Angel Miranda

BIG SPRING - Angel Miranda, 36, of Dallas, formerly of Big Spring died Sunday in Dallas. A rosary will be held at 7 p.m. today at Myers & Smith Chapel. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church with burial in Trinity Memorial Park.

Esta Mae Langley

STEPHENVILLE - Esta Mae Langley, 99, of Stephenville, died Sunday in Webster. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Thursdy at St. Luke's Episcopal Church with burial in the Garden of Memory Cemetery. Stephenville Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Ross Rochelle

SNYDER - Ross Roosevellt Rochelle, 86, of Snyder died Sunday at Cogdell Memorial Hospital. Funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home Chapel with burial in Hillside Memorial Gardens.

Donna Land

BIG SPRING - Donna Land, 33, of Big Spring died Saturday at her home. Services will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Nalley-Pickle & Welch Rosewood Chapel with burial in Trinity Memorial Park.

Dalty White

COAHOMA - Dalty "Salty" White, 83, of Coahoma died Saturday in a local hospital. Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Nalley-Pickle & Welch Rosewood Chapel with burial in Mt. Olive Memorial Park in Big Spring.

John Pierce

CRANE - John W. Pierce, 74, of Crane, a Breckenridge native, died Sunday at his home. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at the Richard W. Box Funeral Home Chapel in Crane with burial in Crane.