Brahma News
Wayne Lester Trant
Wayne Lester Trant passed away November 5, 2008 in an Aransas Pass nursing home at the age of 88. He was born April 22, 1920 in Kingsville, Texas to Lester and Emma Keller Trant. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII for four years in the 303rd Bomb Group. He married Irene E. Meyer September 28, 1946 in Kingsville, Texas. They lived in Kingsville until moving to Aransas Pass in 1954. Wayne was a retired operator for Amoco Production Company and worked for them for 32 years. He was a member of the Faith Lutheran Church in Aransas Pass and held many offices in the church. Wayne was a member of the Aransas Pass VFW Post.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Irene and an infant son, Roy Lee Trant. Survivors include his two sons, Keith W. (Yvonne) Trant of Kingsville, Texas and Ray E. Trant of Aransas Pass, Texas; 2 grandchildren, Sherry Lynn Holladay of Calallen, Texas and Ryan Wayne Trant of Portland, Texas and one great granddaughter, Kalyn Guthrie.
The family will receive friends for viewing and visitation at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home Aransas Pass, Texas from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Friday, November 7, 2008.
Funeral Services will be at the Faith Lutheran Church in Aransas Pass at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, November 8, 2008. Graveside services at Chamberlain Cemetery in Kingsville, Texas will be conducted at 2:00 p.m., Saturday. Rev. Alan Eckert will officiate. In lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy may be made by memorial contributions to the Faith Lutheran Church, 928 W. Lott St., Aransas Pass, Texas 78336.
ARRANGEMENTS ENTRUSTED TO: CHARLIE MARSHALL FUNERAL HOMES and CREMATORY ARANSAS PASS, TEXAS, 78382 1-800-428-2922 charliemarshall@cableone.net
[From the Corpus Christi Caller, 11/7/08. Submitted by Adan Munoz ('66).]
Walter Patzig
Walter Patzig passed away Sunday, October 19, 2008 in Brevard, NC. He is survived by his wife, Millie, and daughters Barbara McKenzie (Class of '66) and Lynne Patzig (Class of '68).
Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 256 E. Main St., Brevard, NC 28712.
Donations may be made to the Friends of Music Choir at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 256 E. Main St., Brevard, NC 28712, or to the Transylvania Regional Hospital Foundation, 260 Hospital Drive, Brevard, NC 28712.
[Submitted by Jean-Pierre Moreau, a family member, on behalf of Barbara McKenzie.]
Submitted by Clifford Fry
Alfonso M. Gonzalez
Alfonso M. Gonzalez, 76, passed away Wednesday, September 24, 2008 in Kingsville, Texas. He was born in Premont, Texas on December 3, 1931 to Felipe and Celia Gonzalez. After graduating from Premont High School, he joined the Air Force. During his 3 ½ years in the Air Force, he was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. He then graduated from the University of Texas at Austin where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. He remained a dedicated supporter of the University and an avid fan of the Longhorns. He recently celebrated his 50th Anniversary as a Pharmacist and spent the majority of his career at Kingsville Pharmacy and Harrel?s Kingsville Pharmacy. He was known for his strong faith and love for his family. He was especially proud of his two grandchildren, Heather and Matthew.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Felipe and Celia Gonzalez, his two brothers, Fernando and Luis Gonzalez. He is survived by his loving wife of 49 years, Graciela Gonzalez. He is also survived by his daughter, Melissa (Donnie) James of Austin, his sons, David (Susan) Gonzalez of Houston, Texas and Mark Gonzalez of New York, New York. He is survived by his two grandchildren, Heather James of Austin, Texas and Matthew Gonzalez of Houston, Texas. He also leaves behind two sisters, Marina Gonzalez of McAllen, Texas and Laura Perez of Dallas, Texas and numerous nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 26, 2008 at Turcotte-Piper Mortuary. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2008 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Kingsville, Texas. Burial will follow at Premont Cemetery in Premont, Texas. The Family would like to request Memorial Contributions be made to Our Lady Of Good Counsel Catholic Church- Building Fund 1102 E. Kleberg, Kingsville, Texas 78363. Arrangements are entrusted to Turcotte-Piper Mortuary .
[From the Corpus Christi Caller, 9/26/08. Submitted by Adan Munoz ('66).]
Clifford L. Horn
Clifford L. (Cliff) Horn of Coleman died Sunday, September 21, 2008 at his daughter's home in Bella Vista, Arkansas where he's lived for the past year.
The family will receive friends at Stevens Funeral Home of Coleman on Friday, September 26th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
A Celebration of Cliff's life will be held at his beloved First United Methodist Church , 500 W. Live Oak, Coleman on Saturday, September 27, 2008. at 1:00 p.m.
Cliff was born December 9, 1917 near Winters, TX the son of Dee Burton and Mattie Mayhew Horn. His father was a rancher, and the family moved several times before he completed high school at Miles. He graduated from Howard Payne in 1939, and his first band teaching positions were in Bronte and Brownfield. When World War II arrived, Cliff joined the Army Air Corps, serving till 1945. He was honorably discharged after serving as a gunnery and flight instructor at the Harlingen, Tx. base. After discharge, he was offered the position of High School Band Director at neighboring McAllen, Tx., resuming his career teaching band. Over the years, he taught band, orchestra or chorus at Kingsville, Deer Park and San Angelo, until his retirement in 1977. He received a Master's Degree from Texas A&I while teaching in Kingsville.
In 1941, he married Jacqueline Holt, in Brownfield, Tx. and they have two daughters, Jacqueline Horn Dooley and Barbara Ann (Bobbie) Horn. They were married from 1941 to 1962. In 1967 Cliff married Ann Wilson Horn of San Angelo. As children, their families had been neighbors, south of Miles, in the 1930's. They were married from 1967 to 1986. After his retirement from teaching, Cliff purchased his beloved ranch near Glen Cove and named it "The Hi C". He met, at Coleman First United Methodist Church, V.J. Perkins Kemper. They married in the fall of 1986. She preceded him in death in January 2000.
Cliff was proceeded in death by his parents, two brothers, Burton and James, three sisters; Jewel Elizabeth, Floy Ranson and Beth Neighbors. He was also preceded in death by Susan Kemper and his son-in-law, Larry Dooley, in 2006.
Cliff was active in many organizations over the years, but most recently, the First United Methodist Church of Coleman, the Chancel Choir and the Chapel Sunday School Class. He was active in Coleman County Farm Bureau, the Republican Party, the Heartland Harmonizers and the Coleman Lanterns Barbershop Groups. He served on the Coleman Library Board, Texas Retired Teachers Association, Central Colorado River Authority Board, and Phi Beta Mu.
He will be missed and joyfully remembered by his two daughters, Jacqui Dooley of Bella Vista, AR and Bobbie Horn of Brownfield; five grandchildren and their families; Cary Dooley, wife Tiffany, and their children Allison, Ryan, and Avery Kate of Edmond Ok.; Christopher Dooley, wife Brandi, and their daughters Parker, and Peyton Dooley.; Shana (Mrs. Garrick) Pass and daughter Gwynyth of Columbia, SC,; Crissie Perez and daughters Makayla and Emily; grandson Aaron Swan of Brownfield; a great-grandson, Jeremy, born on September 8, 2008; and one brother, Victor Horn of Midland.
Cliff is also survived by five children by marriage; Judia (Mrs. Ralph) Terry of Coleman, Martin ( Dr. Karen) Kemper of Waco, William "Kemp" (Kaylene) Kemper of Abilene, Alan (Julie) Kemper of Houston, Anita (Mrs. Mike) Calk of Silver Valley.
Serving as Pallbearers, Cary Dooley, Christopher Dooley, Aaron Swan, Mat Gaines, Phil Neighbors and Rob Schuppenhaur. Serving as Honorary Pallbearers, the many great grandchildren, nieces and nephews and extended family he loved so well.
Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church of Coleman or Circle of Life Hospice, 901 Jones Road, Springdale, Ark. 72762.
[From the Coleman News, 9/23/08. Submitted by Bobbie Horn ('66).]
Brenda Stephenson Pape
Brenda Stephenson Pape, passed away peacefully September 3, 2008, after a long struggle with a chronic illness. Brenda was born July 17th, 1951 to Robert and Frances Stephenson in Kingsville, TX where she grew up and married Bradley Kirk Pape. They adopted their son Jason in 1977 and their daughter Régan in 1982.
Brenda was an avid gardener and a skillful cook; she was known for her kindhearted and generous nature, hospitable to friends and strangers alike. Most of all she was a loving wife and mother, who absolutely devoted her life to caring for her family and friends. She is sorely missed.
Surviving are her husband Kirk, son Jason, daughter Régan, brother Frank Stephenson and wife Mary Lee, mother-in-law Sandra Pape, brother-in-law Greg Pape and wife Jana, and sister-in-law Susan Childs and husband Jeff.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm, Monday, September 8 at St Andrew’s Episcopal Church at 13026 Leopard St, Corpus Christi, TX with Jim Childre officiating. Instead of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Lung Association.
[From the Corpus Christi Caller, 9/07/08. Submitted by Adan Munoz ('66).]
Jim Wilkerson ('63)
Funeral services for James E. Wilkerson MD, PhD, of Palestine will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008, at Southside Baptist Church with Dr. Stephen Holcombe officiating. Burial will follow at Land of Memory Cemetery under the direction of Herrington/Land of Memory Funeral Home.Dr. Wilkerson died Monday at Palestine Regional Medical Center.Dr. Wilkerson was born and raised in Kingsville, Texas. He graduated with highest honors from H.M. King High School in Kingsville in 1963 and received numerous track and field medals from 1961-1963. He then attended Rice University in Houston on a track and field scholarship. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education from Rice University. While at Rice University in 1965, he ran on a relay team that set a world’s record in the 120 yard Shuttle Hurdle and was the Southwest Conference champion. He also competed at the USTFF 110 meter Hurdles National Championship Finals in Albuquerque, N.M. in 1967.After graduating from Rice University, Dr. Wilkerson attended the University of Oregon, in Eugene, Ore., on an NDEA Title IV Graduate fellowship. While at the University of Oregon, he earned a Master of Arts degree in Physical Education with a minor in Biology. He also was awarded a Master of Science degree in biology with a minor in biochemistry, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in human performance with a minor in computer science.Upon graduation with his doctorate degree, Dr. Wilkerson spent five years at the Institute of Environmental Stress at the University of California at Santa Barbara doing post-doctoral research in the fields of exercise and environmental physiology. He was awarded fellowship grants from the Santa Barbara chapter of the American Heart Association, the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. At the Institute of Environmental Stress, Dr. Wilkerson served as the director of the Nuclear and Analytical Chemistry Laboratories and was an assistant research professor with the University of California at Santa Barbara.Dr. Wilkerson then became the director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratories at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. With academic appointments in the Department of Physical Education (School of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) and the Department of Physiology (School of Medicine), Dr. Wilkerson continued to teach, perform both basic and applied research and to mentor graduate students at the Master’s and Doctoral level. He had 25 doctoral students to complete their programs under his direction. Dr. Wilkerson published more than 75 articles and abstracts in refereed scientific and clinical journals. He was a visiting professor at The Johns Hopkins University in the School of Public Health. He was a visiting professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Kuwait, and in Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt. He also did a sabbatical leave with the Orbiting Astrophysical Observatory Corp. at the Brooks School of Aerospace Medicine on Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio.Subsequently, at age 40, he entered The School of Medicine of the University of Miami, in Miami, Fla. He finished medical school in two years. He then did a three-year residency in internal medicine and then a three-year fellowship in cardiovascular disease with the University of Miami at Jackson Memorial Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Miami. After completing his post-graduate medical education, he entered into private practice as an invasive, non-interventional cardiologist with the Valley Diagnostic Clinic in Harlingen. He served as the president and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Valley Diagnostic Clinic for four of the five years he worked there. In 1998, Dr. Wilkerson and his family came to Palestine to begin working with the East Texas Physician Alliance as an invasive, non-interventional cardiologist. He was a partner in the newly opened Magnolia Medical Plaza in Palestine where he served the cardiology needs of the people of Palestine, Anderson County and East Texas.Dr. Wilkerson is survived by his wife, Mickie Wilkerson; three sons, Zachary Casares-Wilkerson, Cody Casares-Wilkerson and Thomas Wilkerson, all of Palestine; two daughters, Michelle Kathryn Miller and husband Jay of Greenwood, Ind., and Noelani Wilkerson of Palestine; and five grandchildren of Greenwood, Ind. Pallbearers will be Kenneth Houck, Chuck Mild, Jon Roberson, Wilson Dew, Jay Miller and Barney McCoy.Condolence calls will be received from 6-8 p.m. Friday at Herrington/Land of Memory Funeral Home.
[Published in the Herald-Press from 8/28/2008 - 8/30/2008.]
Ann Lindsey Reskovac ('58)
Ann L. Reskovac of Beeville, Texas, passed on August 23, 2008 in Corpus Christi, Texas. A memorial service celebrating Ann's life will be held at 1:30 p.m. on September 13, 2008, at the Kresge Chapel, Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, Missouri. In lieu of flowers the family requests that any memorial gifts may be sent to the attention of the "Ann Reskovac Memorial" to either Scarritt-Bennett Center, 1008 19th Ave S., Nashville, TN 37212 or Kansas City Academy, 7933 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64114.
[From the Kansas City Star, 9/5/08. Submitted by Sue Skipworth ('58).]
Danny Roy Young
The remarkable Danny Roy Young, "the Mayor of South Austin," took his final bow August 20, 2008, and left the Austin stage when his song was over. He is deeply loved by his wife Lu; mother Margo; son Scott Young and wife Ashley; daughter Holli Young; brother Darrel Young and wife Barbara; sister Darla and her husband RAdm. Jay Finney USN (Ret); sister Dawne Young; and sister D'nese and her husband Chip Fly. Especially close to his heart were his grandchildren Kathryn Nichol, Haley Hegefeld, Lily Young, and a grandchild yet to be born. His many nieces and nephews and other family members remember Danny Roy Young with love and great affection. Danny was born in Defiance, Ohio on May 29, 1941 to Roy and Margo Young, and always had a special place in his heart for Ohio and his family there. The Young family moved south to Kingsville, Texas in 1951. Danny was active in the Methodist Church, where he received love and guidance from Richard and Peggy Westbrook. He was a member of the band and graduated from H.M. King High School. After high school, he played drums with his band, The Shades. Danny attended Texas A&I University before joining the Coast Guard, where he was on isolated duty in Alaska. His time there was well spent writing letters to Lu, the love of his life, whom he married in 1965. The couple moved to Kingsville and worked at the family's restaurant, Young's Drive In, which they eventually bought from his parents. In 1975, Danny and his family moved to Austin where he studied philosophy at the University of Texas on his G.I. Bill. On September 8, 1981, after selling the business in Kingsville, Danny, Lu, and Scott opened the first Texicalli Grille on South Lamar. By the time the Texicalli Grille relocated to Oltorf, it had become an Austin institution, in part because of the great food but mostly because of Danny. Posters and flyers wallpapered the walls, each lovingly placed. The Texicalli attracted a variety of customers, most of whom became Danny's friends. And it was at the Texicalli that Ponty Bone encouraged Danny to start playing again. Danny went on to a second career performing on the rubboard with Ponty Bone and most famously (and internationally) with the Cornell Hurd Band at their legendary Jovita's Thursdays. Danny loved many things in life: his beloved '54 Chevy, working in his yard, his home on Bluebonnet Lane and his neighbors, Dublin Dr. Pepper, watching the Round Rock Express, his custom cowboy shirts, road trips with friends, and his eclectic collections - all were dear to his heart, but family came first. Danny celebrated his 65th birthday and his 50th year in the restaurant business on May 29th, 2006, and June 22 was declared "Danny Roy Young Day" by the Austin City Council. Scott Young wrote of his father, "His light may be snuffed out (and too soon) but I prefer to think that it is still here in each of us, that the way he lived his life taught us all we need to know about compassion, tolerance, kindness, dignity, respect, and grace. If we could all manifest some small part of what we learned, the combined effect would shine bright enough to illuminate this black shadow creeping over us. The sign on the front door of Texicalli said 'Just Be Nice,' and the tattoo across dad's chest read 'Live Not On Evil.' Those are good places to start. Dad was larger than life. Now it is up to us to make him larger than death." Services will be held 3pm Tuesday at the United Methodist Church, 12th and Lavaca. A reception will be held afterward at Antone's, 5th and Lavaca. The Young family knows that Danny would appreciate donations to any of the following organizations: Any Baby Can, Meals on Wheels, Blue Santa, Austin Children's Shelter. Rest in peace, Danny Roy Young.
[From the Austin American-Statesman, 8/24/08. Submitted by Adan Munoz ('66).]
Farewell to A&I's finest
Upshaw's rise to football fame with the Raiders and power with the NFLPA began in a Javelinas jersey
By George Vondracek (Contact)
Originally published 12:14 a.m., August 22, 2008
Updated 12:14 a.m., August 22, 2008
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy, file)
KINGSVILLE -- Legendary stories usually surround legendary performers.
The tale behind football great Gene Upshaw is a corker. See full story...
[From the Corpus Christi Caller, 8/22/08. Submitted by Dan McClanahan ('62).]
Danny Roy Young, 1941 - 2008
By Michael Corcoran | Thursday, August 21, 2008, 12:20 AM
Someone called Danny Young “the Mayor of South Austin” and it stuck like an arrow because Young’s warm, gregarious personality and passion for Texas music lit up the whole 78704 Zip Code. The big-hearted neighborhood activist was the friendliest guy you could ever meet… and he met everyone who ever walked into his Texicalli Grille.
Danny Roy Young, who also played rub board with Cornell Hurd, Ponty Bone and the Texana Dames, died of a heart attack Wednesday. He was 67. He had been at his parttime job as a driver for Enterprise Rent-a-Car when he was found incapacitated in a car in the parking lot Wednesday afternoon. Co-workers called for EMS and he was rushed to South Austin Hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest, said sister Dawne Young. The time of death was 4:42 p.m.
“What a guy!” Susan Antone wrote in an email. “He was a class act always and a great friend. He’ll be sorely missed.”
A native of Kingsville, where his parents ran a root beer stand turned pizza parlor, Young and his wife Lu moved to Austin in 1975 and opened the first location of Texicalli Grille (the signature Texicalli sandwich was named after Gene Autry’s “Mexicalli Rose”) on South Lamar Boulevard. He became the unofficial mayor of South Austin in the mid-1980s, when the city planned to widen South Lamar and put in a continuous median, to make it more of a thoroughfare. Fearing an expansion would change the soul of the neighborhood, Young organized other affected business owners, who gathered petitions, took their concerns to City Hall, and eventually got the expansion project dropped.
“It used to be, ‘All them Bubbas live over there with toilets in their front yards.’ And there’s still some of that,” Young said of South Austin in a 2002 American-Statesman profile. “But it’s the most beautiful, supportive community. It doesn’t matter if you have long or short hair, Skoal in your back pocket or a joint in your shirt pocket; here people really care about people.”
Nobody spread the love like Danny Young, who tooled around town in Big Lu-Lu, a 1954 Chevy station wagon, waving at friends and playing a mix of music ranging from conjunto to blues to zydeco to western swing.
Young retired in 2006 at age 65 and sold the Texicalli, which brought funky charm to an old Taco Bell on East Oltorf Street in 1989. The restaurant, known for its Texan twist on the Philly cheesesteak, closed in July 2007 because of rising rents.
“He missed the cameraderie of the Texicalli, but he liked being retired, not having that daily responsibility of running a restaurant” said music journalist John Morthland, who often took roadtrips with Young to Arlington and Houston to watch major league baseball games. “Sometimes we’d get back at 3 a.m. after a game and Danny would have to be at work at 6 a.m.”
He took the job at Enterprise, assistant manager Daryl Lentz said, because “he was a customer first, who liked everybody here, and he said he had too much free time. He was so full of life, he didn’t want to sit at home.”
A storyteller and rabble rouser, Young loved to hold court at a big, round table at the poster-covered Texicalli, a fat-chewing, sociopolitical haven where musicians, artists and neighborhood eccentrics used to gather to complain about government and “progress.”
“In South Austin, we do things the way we want, and we hope you like it,” Young told former Statesman columnist Don McLeese in 1996. “But if you don’t, we’ll do it anyway.”
On Wednesday, a mighty whiff of the Old Austin spirit disappeared. There will never be another Danny Young; you can be sure of that. On stage he kept the rhythm on a metal washboard he played wearing leather gloves with Mercury dimes glued to the fingertips. But it was the pulse of Danny Young’s personality, his love of life and music and conversation, that helped give the ‘04 its beat.
Young is survived by his mother Margo, wife Lu, son Scott and daughter Holli, plus three granddaughters, three sisters and a brother. Funeral arrangements are pending. A reception is tentatively planned for Tuesday at Antone’s.
[From the Austin American Statesman, 8/21/08. This particular article was submitted by Bill McLeod ('59), but so many people have sent news, messages, articles, and expressions of grief, it's difficult to give credit to any one person.]
*****************
Services for Danny are scheduled for 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at First United Methodist Church in Austin with a reception immediately following at Antone's. There could not be two more fitting venues. When Danny came to Austin, his long time friend from Kingsville, Rev. Jack D. Heacock, was pastor at FUMC, and if anyone in the city had a heart comparable to Danny's it was Clifford Antone.
[Submitted by Gloria Badillo Hill ('62).]
*****************
Danny Roy Young
1941 - 2008
Dear Friends:
It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that I pass on this news to all of you. Danny Roy Young was my best friend since I first moved to Kingsville in 1955 -- 53 years ago. Danny had the biggest heart of anyone I know and today that heart stopped. We first got the call from Nancy Ray whose daughter had called her from Austin. I just refused to believe it, it must be some kind of mistake. Later, I heard from his brother Darrel confirming the awful fact. Darrel put it quite succinctly "The one and only Danny Roy Young died today, heart attack; couldn't Be revived. He was our Danny Boy and we'll miss him so." Since 7PM our phone has been ringing constantly or I've been on the phone talking to old friends about Danny. Now it's late and i have to fall back on email to contact as many of you as I can. As soon as I hear of any arrangements I will let you know.
Danny always said "no matter how old I get, I'll always be Young." Bless his heart, he adhered to that Mantra all his life. I told him he was like Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Danny was larger than life and his loss leaves a hole in mine that will never be filled. See you in the afterlife Old Friend.
Bill McLeod
(Class of '58)
Celebrity Visit
Published: Thursday, July 24, 2008 4:47 PM CDT
Lt. Cmdr. Jeffery Deviney, currently serving in Iraq, is shown with actor Gary Sinese, who portrayed the character of “Lt. Dan” in the movie Forest Gump.
Sinese paid a surprise visit to the troops that day, Deviney said.
“He (Sinese) just showed up, was literally just walking around wanting to meet as many people as he could. He just came by to say thanks. The man’s a true patriot,” he said. Deviney, a native of Freer, is assigned to the Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, and is stationed in Ramadi in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
[From the Alice Echo News, 7/24/08. Submitted by Adan Munoz ('66).]
Margaret Gaines McKee
July 21, 2008 - 11:13PM
Age 55, went to be with the Lord on July 11, 2008.
She is survived by her sons: Christopher McKee and Charles McKee, Grandchildren: Christian McKee and Lucas McKee, Mother: Emily Jo Pollard, Brothers: David Pollard and family, Roger Pollard and family, Tommy Pollard and family, and Matthew Pollard.
She was preceded in death by Daughter: Patience McKee, Sister: Francis Pollard, and Father: Melvin Pollard.
Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 11:00AM at First Presbyterian Church at 402 E Jackson St, Harlingen, TX.
Sign the guestbook at www.valleystar.com.
[From the Valley Morning Star, 7/22/08. Submitted by Dan McClanahan ('62).]
Prayer Request
Please keep Cliff Horn, former KHS Band Director, in your prayers, along with his whole family. His health is deteriorating, and he is not expected to recover. Our thoughts are with his entire family at this time.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Isaiah M. Hagen
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Isaiah Mac Hagen, 36, of Fayetteville, died Friday, July 4, 2008.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, 2008, in Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home chapel in Fayetteville, with Chaplain Capt. Benjamin Duncan officiating.
Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the funeral home.
Mr. Hagen is survived by his wife, Deborah T. Hagen of the home; sons, Christian Alexander Anthony of Bakersfield, Calif., and Coleman Allen of Fayetteville; daughter, Devin Allen of Fayetteville; mother and father, Tara McQuerrey and Clyde Lee Hagen; brother, Spc. 4 Miguel Hagen, U.S. Army, of Clovis, Calif.; sisters, 2nd Lt. Krysten Boele (Christopher), U.S. Army, of Clovis, Katrin Hagen of Bakersfield and Susan Perez of Bakersfield; four nephews, Tony Boele, Kyle Boele, Max Boele and Blake Hagen; and five nieces, Annie Boele, Morgan Hagen, Alex Hagen, Bailey Hagen and Jaxi Hagen.
Memorials may be made to the Isaiah Mac Hagen Memorial Fund, c/o N.C. State Veterans Nursing Home, 214 Cochran Ave., Fayetteville, NC 28301.
Services entrusted to Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home of Fayetteville.
[From the Fayetteville Observer, July 10, 2008.]
Nancy Jane McKay Phaup
Nancy Jane McCay Phaup’s soul was claimed by her Heavenly Father July 4, Independence Day, at 11:56 P.M. Nancy was accompanied at the time of death by her husband, Jim, and two adult children, Kathrine and Jonathan. After a courageous but physically debilitating fight with cancer, Nancy’s demeanor at the time of death was serene and accepting. Though she loved life, Nancy was completely accepting of being called home to Christ. Her only concern was that her family and friends would be prepared to let her go and would be alright without her continued physical presence. Nancy was preceded in death by her mother, Ruth Marie Smith McCay and by her father Lt. Col. Leroy D. McCay (USAF). They spent their youth in Oklahoma (McAlester and El Reno areas) and retired in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nancy was the apple of her grandparents’ eyes and was perfection itself according to her paternal aunt, Florence "Sadie" McCay. Nancy cared, in her home, for both her mother and her maternal aunt, Lee "Tootsie" Morris, for several years before their deaths at advanced ages. She was a loving daughter and niece. An "army brat," Nancy was born June, 17, 1944 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In her early childhood, she and her mother accompanied her father to postings in Japan (during McArthur’s post-WWII occupation), Guam, and Puerto Rico. Nancy had some memories of Japan and many fond memories of her family’s stays in Guam and especially Puerto Rico. She had vivid memories of one trip that she and her mother made back to the USA on a banana boat. At one elementary school, Nancy was named "Miss Greenwich Village," which she always said marked the high point of her career as a beauty queen. Her many friends and admirers would disagree. Nancy graduated from Warner Robbins High School in Warner Robbins, Georgia, where her father was stationed at the local air base.
Nancy entered college in the fall of 1962 at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. A favorite teacher was a young male teacher who was apt to call the girls "marvelous creatures." One wonders if he could have realized at the time just how prescient that label was for Nancy. In the spring of 1964, Nancy transferred to the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque where she divided her week between living with her Aunt Tootsie on weekdays and spending weekends with her grandmother (Nin Nim) and Aunt Sadie. Aunt Sadie had an aging Pontiac that she called "Huldie," and Nancy named her own 1955 Chevy "Sylvester." It was at UNM, in January 1964, that Nancy first met Jim, who would soon become her steady boyfriend and eventual fiance and husband. Both were new transfer students (he from Kentucky) and had fortuitously signed up for the same government class - Comparative Politics taught by T. Phillip (Tom) Wolf - who became a lifelong friend. Jim, who sat on the front row, admired Nancy as she would squeeze past him each day to get to her seat. But Nancy made the first move, inviting Jim to a sorority party with a cave man theme. Chatting outside the building before class, she asked if he’d like to be her cave man (coincidentally his nickname in high school) and that was the beginning of a 44+ year courtship. Both graduated May 10, 1966 with bachelors degrees in political science. They were married the following day, May 11, in the small chapel on the UNM campus. The minister was Presbyterian; the service was partly Unitarian, partly nondenominational, and partly secular. College years friends included Connie Bower-Johnstone, Chuck Kennedy, Diane Zinn-Young, Sam McTeer, Lynn and Dick Scripter and Tom and Jori, Katie and Bob Boyd. Next, came the graduate school years with Jim at the University of Arizona (UA) in Tucson from 1966-1969. While Jim continued to study political science, Nancy became homemaker, lover, companion, typist, copy editor, and intellectual companion and equal. Good friends during graduate school were Anne and Bob Thomas, Pat and Layne Hoppe, Jan and Jim Craig, Diane and Craig Grau, Ina and Don Freeman, and others.
In the 1960s, few women attended graduate school. There were only three or four women among 50 or 60 graduate students in political science at UA at the time. The division of labor between Nancy and Jim was typical for the period. Jim thinks it was a crying shame that Nancy did not also attend graduate school or do so instead of him. As a teacher, Nancy was a natural. As a child, one of her favorite games was playing school, and she always had to be the teacher. A friend once stamped her feet and declared that "that damn Nancy McCay always has to be the teacher."
Jim played outside as a boy and tried to identify animal shapes among the clouds. Jim works hard to be a competent teacher; Nancy worked hard and became a superb teacher. Within a week, she always knew every student’s name. She instinctively knew how to bring a work of literature alive. In recent years, Nancy would recognize each student’s birthday in class by providing small cupcakes that her students at Presbyterian Pan American School referred to as "cakitos." They looked forward to those ten- minute birthday parties. While Nancy taught English grammar and literature, every class period was a geography class for her students. Nancy loved maps and took every occasion to show students, on a US or world map, where each place in a story or novel or in a current news story was located. Nancy picked this habit up from Col. Hal Justice, her high school government teacher, who traveled from Georgia to New Mexico to attend her wedding. They remained in contact by mail until Mr. Justus was well into his nineties and no longer up to continuing the correspondence. Nancy would learn the personal histories of her students and treat each of them as individuals. Over the years, Nancy received literally hundreds of cards, letters, and mementos from current and former students. On campus, students would always seek her out. They craved her recognition and friendship. Nancy and Jim spent two months during the summer of 1967 at the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor Michigan. It was a beautiful campus. This was the summer of the Detroit Riots and Nancy and Jim were driving around in the riot area just a week before the riots began. They were visiting Jim’s Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Ruby Park who lived in Detroit. It was also a long hot summer on the Ann Arbor campus.
Nancy and Jim lived in a non-air conditioned one-room efficiency tenement -- known euphemistically on campus as married student housing. Nearby, Kenyan students cooked heavily-seasoned native dishes with lots of garlic, and the aroma filtered though the entire complex due to all the open windows. This was the first real test of the marriage. The only place to go to in case of an argument was to sit in the hallway or take a long walk. Nancy did a fair amount of hallway-sitting and Jim walked the campus a lot. But the marriage survived and came out stronger than before. The arguments which were quite intense at the time became a source of amusement with the lapse of time. Jim’s first job after graduate school was at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Housing was so expensive that Nancy and Jim moved into an unfurnished apartment even though they had no furniture. Being practical folk, their first furniture was a nice stereo. Next was a cheap bed brought Okie-fashion (tied to the roof of the car) from Miami. The set was made complete with a metal patio table and some inexpensive lawn chairs. Jim did research on migrant farm workers in nearby Belle Glade and Pahokee - sites made famous by Edward R. Murrow in his classic documentary "Harvest of Shame." Nancy volunteered at a neighborhood center where she made some good friends, and helped introduce local children to the beach, which was about five miles away, for the first time. Judy and Tom Price were good friends.
In the Fall of 1970, Nancy and Jim moved to Kingsville, Texas so that Jim could teach at Texas AandI University. They lived at University Square Apartments across from the university for five years. Nancy wanted a house, but Jim was sure that he would soon get a job elsewhere and didn’t want to be tied down to a house. In 1972, Nancy and Jim adopted their daughter Kathrine Pilar (Katie) and worked in the McGovern for President campaign. Katie attended all the rallies in a backpack. Her birth announcement proclaimed her candidacy for presidency one day. Nancy and Jim attended parties at the Mende home. Gunter Mende was the first person they met in Kingsville. Katie, Laura DeHoop, and Anne Huebel would sleep in the front bedroom in their identical plastic- covered cardboard boxes - an innovation in kiddie care that soon went the way of the Volkswagen Beetle. Good friends included the Carol and Terry Barragy, Jan and Tom Hughes, Pixie and Fred Matkin, Jeff Bishop, Edna and Mike Ybarra, and Randy Hughes. In 1975, Nancy and Jim moved to a home at 731 Santa Dolores Street where they lived until 1992. They shared a back fence with Russ and Kathy Huebel. In 1977, Nancy and Jim adopted again - Jonathan Miguel. Jon was a roly-poly little boy who sprouted into a near six-footer and acquired Nancy’s love of cooking. Nancy was a full-time mom and enjoyed cooking, mothering, and reading. She also became active in the University Women’s Club and several of its interest groups - gourmet, book club, and scholarship committee. Nancy helped found the book club and scholarship committee. During these years, close friends included the Gunter Mendes, Sally and Clark Magruder, Pat and Herman DeHoop, Kathy and Fred Hadley, Kathy and Russ Huebel, Kathy and Mark Anderson, Alida and Larry Larrichio, Jeanette and Sandy Hicks, Monika and Jack Hardy, Nan and Porky Myers, Sherry and Wendall Johnson, and many others. December 12,1991 was a big day, Nancy’s daughter Katie had her first son, Paeton, and Nancy and Jim both were privileged to be present at his birth - which was a high point in both their lives. Within a year, Nancy and Jim moved to the house on Armstrong Street where they remained to the present. This was, in part, necessary to accommodate Aunt Tootsie moving in after the death of Nancy’s Uncle John Morris. For a few years, Kate and Paeton lived in the guest house. Eventually, Nancy’s mother also moved in with the family after the death of Nancy’s father.
In January 1990, Nancy resumed her studies working toward a master’s degree in English. During this time, Nancy served as an assistant instructor in the Department of Language and Literature at Texas AandI University. Nancy completed her master’s degree May 1992. By that time, AandI had become Texas AandM University -Kingsville (TAMUK). Nancy’s master’s thesis was on the short stories of Bobbie Ann Mason, a Kentucky writer. From September 1992 to May 1995, Nancy served as a lecturer/visiting instructor in the Language and Literature Department. Later on, Nancy taught for six years at the privately-owned Intensive English Institute (IEI) located on the TAMUK campus. Nancy became a skilled ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher and eventually served as a core teacher, academic coordinator, and interim director.
Nancy loved the students (mostly adults from all over the world) that came to study English, and she formed many lasting friendships among both faculty and students. During these years, Nancy also did volunteer work with the local adult literacy organization in Kingsville. IEI was bought out by a larger company, and the Kingsville campus closed. At that time, Nancy moved to Presbyterian Pan American School (PPAS), a local secondary-level boarding school with mostly international students, primarily from Mexico. She taught at PPAS from August 2001 until cancer caused her to stop teaching on February 14, 2008. At PPAS, Nancy was named teacher of the year in 2004 and again in 2008, and served as a mentor teacher. She also sponsored the PPAS chapter of the secondary-level National Honor Society. Nancy belonged to two university-level academic honor societies - Sigma Tau Delta (English) and Pi Sigma Alpha (Political Science). During the Armstrong Avenue years, Nancy did jazzercise/aerobic exercise for several years, became a daily swimmer for about six months of the year, and continued to be active in the University Women’s Club. She had recently jointed the Kingsville Music Club, and for the past few years had offered her house as a host home for young musicians during the young musicians competition sponsored by the Music Club and led by Jim and Mary Tryer.
Nancy’s home became the center of an active social circle that included both native and international participants. Social gatherings were typically potlucks with everyone pitching in not only with food, but doing everything from planning and table-setting to cleaning up. Regulars at these functions, at various times, included: Marlis and Gunter Mende, Jaya and Nirmal Goswami (Nirmal frequently introduced himself as Nancy’s twin brother - to the amusement of some guests and to the befuddlement of others) and Rohit, Stephen and Adline Sedory and Abigal and Sarah, Becky and Maurice Schmidt, Lisa and David Su, Caroline and Alan Eckert and Jacob, Sally Swofford, Janie and Paco Lopez, Olga and Mario Carranza, Galina and George Hopkins, Nancy Nagy and Dale Schruben, Brenda Melendy, Richard Hartwig, Alma Shanks, Tonie Canales, Clark Magruder (artist, sculptor, writer, friend), who is making a vessel in which to store Nancy’s (and later Jim’s) remains until they are eventually scattered by family members, Priya and Prasad Gavankar and Charuta, Jack and Ilene Yu, Paulina and Geogina Aquino and their family, Betty Eshom. Mary Ann Brookshire has been a fabulous next door neighbor. During the course of Nancy’s illness many of these friendships blossomed and deepened as countless individuals have gone to great lengths to assist Nancy and the entire family. Particularly notable for their repeated visits and efforts, in addition to those already listed above, are Lillian and Bill Johnson, Kathy and Russ Huebel, Marge Peterson, Bobbie Stottlemyer, Sue and David Sabrio, and Margaret Carter. Others have substituted for Jim or Nancy at work including - Lillian Johnson for Nancy and Gary Lipscomb, Nirmal Goswami, Matt Price, Mary Mattingly, Mario Carranza, Ross Dudney, Richard Carrera, Al Ellis, and Jennifer Borrer - all for Jim. Thanks to Elizabeth Johnsey for singing patriotic songs to and with Nancy on the fourth of July - just hours before Nancy’s death. A special thanks to Pastor Allan Eckert for offering catechism instruction to Nancy and Jim over several evenings and for officiating at Nancy’s baptism and at her confirmation. Pastor Eckert also offered communion to Nancy at home on several occasions. Thanks to the entire congregation of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kingsville for their loving acceptance of and support for Nancy and Jim. Jim’s brother, Mark, and his niece, Heather Clark, came from Kentucky to say their goodbyes. Jim’s cousin, Jo Ellen, and her husband, Bill, Ewin drove in from Indiana. Nancy was so happy to see them all. Thanks to our good friend Maurice Schmidt, who did a water color painting and several chalk drawings of Nancy and family members over the past few weeks. Thanks to Linda Erebia for the many years that she helped Nancy care for her mother and aunt. Thanks to Dr. Catherine Dulak of Corpus Christi who saw Nancy only once at her initial examination, but whose compassion and continuing support went far beyond anything that was required. The folks at Spohn Hospice were a wonderful help. Nancy received countless cards and emails, was placed on scores of prayer lists, and the family has been showered with flowers, food, and other items. So many people care for Nancy that the entire experience has been difficult to comprehend and humbling. How can the family ever begin to repay all the kindnesses that have been bestowed?
Survivors include Nancy’s husband, Jim; her children -- Kathrine and Jonathan; and Kathrine’s children - Paeton McCay Phaup; Thaddeus Richard Bents, Emma Jane-Anne Bents, and Seth Henry Bents. Also, Nancy’s other "sons" Jeff Magruder and Michael Blaine Fordtran; Nancy’s "twin brother," Nirmal Goswami; and her spiritual sisters Marlis Mende, Jaya Goswami, and Carol Jo Bean. A memorial service will be held at 4:00 P.M. - Thursday - July 10, 2008. The location is St. Paul Lutheran Church, 521 E. Doddridge, Kingsville, Texas 78363. (Ph. 592-4134 or 592-6531) In lieu of flowers, friends are encouraged to make contributions, in Nancy’s memory, to any of the following: St. Paul Lutheran Church - P.O. Box 1581, Kingsville TX 78363; St. Paul Lutheran School - 801 E. Main, Bishop TX 78343; Presbyterian Pan American School - P.O. Box 1578, Kingsville TX 78363. [Nancy is a member of the congregation of St. Paul Church; her grandson Paeton attended St. Paul School; Nancy taught at Pan American until February 14 of this year; and she was both a volunteer and paid staffer at the Literacy Council in the past and had planned to resume that association during retirement.]
[From the Corpus Christi Caller, 7/9/08. Submitted by Adan Munoz ('66).]
Wayne Michael Cook
GALVESTON —Wayne Michael Cook passed away on June 29, 2008, in Galveston, Texas. Born in Springfield, Vermont on March 25, 1943, he was preceded in death by his father Howard Cutter Cook, his mother Constance Wolski Cook and his brother Dennis Cook.
Formerly the General Manager of Via Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, he also managed Island Transit in Galveston and was an owner of North American Transit in Bryan/College Station, Texas.
Among those fortunate to know him, he was considered to be a man of high ideals, great intelligence and passion. A well read man, Wayne was capable of holding his own in conversations on almost any subject matter. Among the gifts he gave to his two sons was an enduring love for hunting and fishing. A natural teacher, he studied the game of soccer as a young father so he could coach his sons, eventually leading them to a state championship.
Wayne loved animals of all varieties and all things outdoors. His soft spoken manner easily won over children and animals, and served to enhance his instructional efforts in coaching. In his later years he especially enjoyed fishing with his great nephew Wyatt and spending time with Callie, his Labrador Retriever. Wayne’s greatest passion in life was his children, by whom he will be greatly missed.
It has been said that “the secret of loving is living loved.” Wayne was indeed loved. Wayne is survived by his wife Ann, the former Margaret Ann Wood of Midland, Texas. They met in college and were married forty two years. Also surviving Wayne are his sons Patrick Howard Cook and wife Windy of New York City and Stephen Michael Cook, wife Rachel; and grandson Bradley Taylor Cook of New York City; and sisters Deborah Price and her husband Tom and Kathryn Cook, all of Jensen Beach. Wayne will also be missed by many loving members of his extended family.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, July 2, 2008, at Malloy & Son Funeral Home 3028 Broadway, Galveston, Texas.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Ronald McDonald House of Galveston (409-762 8770).
Malloy & Son Funeral Home
[From the Galveston County Daily News, 7/02/08. Submitted by Dave McCauley ('61).]
Nona Marie Gajdos
Nona Marie Gajdos, 32, went to be with her heavenly father on June 22, 2008. Nona passed away in a Corpus Christi Hospital with her family at her side. Nona was preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, Olen H. Pattillo and her aunt, Alicé P. Nau of Kingsville, Texas and also her paternal grandfather, Louis L. Gajdos of Robstown, Texas.
Nona is survived by her parents, Belo Gajdos of Robstown, Texas and Deborah Pattillo of Kingsville, Texas and one sister, Gina Dear of Kingsville, Texas. Nona also leaves a loving family: Michael, Jessica, Tony and Marian Berard of Winnipeg Canada and many family and friends. She is also survived by her paternal aunt, Linda Daniels and cousins, Gay Lyn Whitenton of Bishop, Texas and Robin Cain of Dallas, Texas. Maternal aunts and uncles, Terri Pattillo, Jayne Loff, Gary Pattillo, Leah Murphy and Monte Pattillo and numerous cousins.
The Family wishes to thank everyone for all the support and prayers during this time. She will be missed by all whose lives she touched. Private graveside services will be held at a later time. Final arrangements were entrusted to Kingsville Memorial Funeral Home.
[From the Corpus Christi Caller, 6/28/08. Submitted by Betty Kaye Cureton Perkins ('66).]
Old KHS Renovation News -- a letter from Nancy Deviney
Dear Fellow KHS graduates,
It’s been a couple of years and more since I’ve attempted to make contact with you all and hope this finds you well and prosperous.
Many of you have changed email addresses at least once in the interim and my list is probably not as up-to-date as it should be. With this thought in mind, I hope you’ll share this news with those classmates you keep in touch with to make sure the news is spread.
At long last a committee has been formed and preliminary plans are being formulated to renovate the “old” H. M. King High School building. Kingsville’s Mayor Sam Fugate (a KHS ‘70s-something grad) steers this committee that includes prominent citizens, philanthropists, historians, architects and the like.
Their behind-the-scenes work has been ongoing for six months or more, and they are now ready to unveil the plans to the public.
Mayor Fugate will address the 99th annual Kingsville Chamber of Commerce Membership Luncheon on Thursday, March 1, with a speech entitled, “Kingsville’s Future – Looking Ahead”.
It is my understanding that Kingsville’s City Hall may be relocated to this historic landmark where many of us once attended classes. Sam’s presentation will serve to enlighten us all on this project that is dear to the hearts of many a KHS grad.
If you are interested in attending this luncheon, please contact the Kingsville Chamber of Commerce at 361 592-6438 or email director@kingsville.org. Tickets are $20 per person. The luncheon will be held at the Henrietta Memorial Center (The Icehouse) adjacent to the King Ranch Museum.
If you are unable to attend the luncheon but would like to be kept up-to-date on the renovation plans and/or be a part of this exciting project, please let me know. I am not a member of the committee but will certainly pass along your interest.
You may reach me by email at deviney@the-i.net or nancydeviney@yahoo.com. I’d like to hear from you regardless.
Thanks, Nancy
Nancy Corbin Deviney (KHS Class of ’65)