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Laura Lynn Childress
COMANCHE -- Laura Lynn Childress, 33, died Wednesday at her home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today in Hall & Sons Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Van Christian officiating. Burial will be in Board Church Cemetery.
Mrs. Childress was born in Hamilton and graduated from Comanche High School. She worked as a beautician at Western Hills Care Center and was a member of First Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband, James Childress of Comanche; two sons, Nathan Kidwell and Brandon Kidwell, both of Comanche; one stepson, Kevin Childress of Indiana; one stepdaughter, Christen Childress of Indiana; her parents, Jimmy and Peggy Northcutt of Comanche; one brother, Darrin Northcutt of Austin; her maternal grandparents, Jack and Louise Hungerford of Energy; her paternal grandparents, Harold and Ofadell Northcutt of Comanche; and two nieces.
Memorials may be sent to Comanche High School Library or Comanche High School Scholarship Fund.
(Published on November 21, 1997)
Luther Woodruff
RANGER -- Luther Woodruff, 85, died Sunday in a local nursing home.
A wake service will be at 7 p.m. today in Edwards Funeral Home Chapel. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in Eastside Baptist Church with the Rev. Larry Linham officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery.
Mr. Woodruff was born in Calvert in Robinson County and attended school in Robinson County. He married Francis William in 1936 in Cameron and moved to Ranger in 1947. He worked in maintenance at Eastland Memorial Hospital for many years and was a farmer. He was a member of Eastside Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, of Ranger; two daughters, Francis Simien of Suisum City, Calif., and Arma Jean Woodruff of Dallas; two sons, Luther Woodruff of Radcliff, Ky., and James Woodruff of Dallas; one sister, Elzora Lewis of San Angelo; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
(Published on November 21, 1997)
Frankie Abernathy
BROWNWOOD -- Frankie Abernathy, 79, died Thursday in Brownwood.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Davis-Morris Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will be in Greenleaf Cemetery.
Mrs. Abernathy was born in Brownwood and was a homemaker. She returned to Brownwood in 1995 from Coulton, Calif. She was a Baptist and was the widow of Morris Abernathy, whom she married in 1937 in Brownwood.
Survivors include three sons, Earl Abernathy of Magnolia, and Gerald M. Abernathy and Charles F. Abernathy, both of Lakeside, Ariz.; two daughters, Pearl Farnsworth of Brownwood and Gwen Nadeau of Houston; 17 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.
(Published on November 21, 1997)
James 'Big Jim' Gilliam
James C. "Big Jim" Gilliam, 71, died Thursday in a local hospital.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Trinity Baptist Church with the Rev. Kevin Kennedy officiating. Burial with military honors will be in Garden of Memories in Sweetwater, directed by McCoy Funeral Home of Sweetwater.
Mr. Gilliam was born in Alabama, where he grew up, and was in the U.S. Air Force for 21 years until 1963. He was a World War II and Korean conflict veteran. He moved to Sweetwater in 1962 and worked as a dietician at Simmons Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater for 13 years. He moved to Abilene in 1977 and was a food supervisor at the Petroleum Club, Abilene Club and University Inn.
Survivors include his wife, Joanna Gilliam of Abilene; three sons, John Wayne Gilliam of Charlotte, N.C., James Clifford Gilliam Jr. of Pensacola, Fla., and David Halstead of Dallas; six grandchildren; and one niece and one nephew.
The body will be at North's Funeral Home, 242 Orange.
The family will be at 2125 Glendale Drive.
(Published on November 22, 1997)
Leroy Guy
Leroy W. Guy, 74, died Thursday in a Big Spring hospital after a lengthy illness.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today in Highland Church of Christ with Mike Cope and Wally Bullington officiating. Burial will be in Elmwood Memorial Park, directed by Elmwood Funeral Home, 5750 U.S. Hwy 277 South.
Mr. Guy was born in Grimes, Okla., and married Ruby Bonham in 1946. He served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War and moved to Abilene in 1964.
Survivors include his wife, of Abilene; two daughters, Barbara Moore of Mansfield and Donna Campbell of Grapevine; two sons, Eddie Guy of Dallas and Johnny Guy of Abilene; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
(Published on November 22, 1997)
Barry Barker
Barry Barker, 56, a longtime Dallas civic leader and son of an Abilene woman, died Thursday in a Dallas hospital.
Funeral will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Sparkman/Hillcrest Northwest Highway Chapel at Dallas. Burial will be in Hillcrest Memorial Park.
Born in Dallas, Barker was a 1960 graduate of Abilene High School and a 1964 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He also graduated from American College of Life Underwriting and was confirmed as a chartered life underwriter in 1975.
His business activities included insurance sales with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. for many years. He was immediate past president of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Professionally, he was a member of the Dallas Association of Life Underwriters and the American Society of Chartered Life Underwriters.
His many civic activities included Leadership Dallas, chairman of Dallas 40, Dallas Park Board, Dallas Area Rapid Transportation (DART) Board, Dallas Planning and Zoning Commission, Dallas Community Development Advisory Board, Dallas Housing Finance Cooperation, vice chairman of the Mayor's Task Force on Criminal Justice; vice chairman of Tom Landry Day, director of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau; chairman of the President's Task Force for the State Fair of Texas; director of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association; director of the YMCA and Tejas Girl Scout Council; vice chairman of the United Way of Dallas; treasurer of Clean Dallas; director of Goodwill Industries and a member of the state Committee for a Qualified Judiciary and the state Judicial Evaluation Committee.
He is survived by a daughter, Krissy Barker of Dallas; a son, Andrew Barker of Dallas; his mother, Mary Anne Barker of Abilene; two sisters, Suzanne Roberts of Dallas and Elizabeth Willis of Fort Worth; one brother, Bill, of Phoenix; and an aunt.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Sparkman/Hillcrest, 7405 West Northwest Highway.
Memorials may be made to the Dallas Parks Foundation and Parkland Foundation.
(Published on November 22, 1997)
Jean Adele Epkins
FARMINGTON, N.M. -- Jean Adele Epkins, 81, formerly of Abilene, died Thursday in Farmington.
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. today in Emmanuel Baptist Church with the Rev. John Preston officiating. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Elmwood Memorial Park in Abilene, directed by Cope Memorial Chapel.
Mrs. Epkins was born in St. Joseph, Mo., and lived in Abilene for 38 years. She worked in the nursery and day care department of the Child Development Center at Emmanuel Baptist Church before becoming ill in 1995. She was the widow of George Epkins.
Survivors include one son, Steve Epkins of Miami; one daughter, Bonnie Cockrum of Farmington; one sister, Betty Heller of Ashton, Ill.; and three grandchildren.
Memorials may be sent to the Child Development Center at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 211 W. 20th, Farmington, N.M. 87401.
(Published on November 22, 1997)
Hoyt Bland
POST -- John William Hoyt Bland, 83, brother of an Abilene resident, died Wednesday in a Lubbock hospital.
Services will be at 11 a.m. today in Trinity Baptist Church with the Rev. Billie S. Smith officiating. Burial will be in Terrace Cemetery, directed by Justice-Mason Funeral Home.
Mr. Bland was born in Trent and attended school in Pleasant Valley. He married Lena Gibson in 1940 in Brownfield and moved to Garza County in 1945 from Stanton. He was a farmer and rancher.
Survivors include his wife, of Post; one son, John Bland of Post; one brother, Cecil Bland of Post; one sister, Susie Hodges of Abilene; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
(Published on November 22, 1997)
Alta Lee Pickren
MERKEL -- Alta Lee Pickren, 99, formerly of Salem, Ark., died Thursday in an Abilene hospital.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Monday in Salem Cemetery in Salem, Ark. with the Rev. Doug Chriss officiating, directed by Starbuck Funeral Home.
Mrs. Pickren was born in Newark, Ark., and graduated from Salem, Ark. High School. She attended Conway College in Conway, Ark. She started teaching school at age 18 and taught at Pickren Hall, a one-room school house. She was a homemaker. She moved to Abilene in 1970 and Merkel in 1984 and was the widow of Craig Pickren.
Survivors include two daughters, Jackie Carmack of Merkel and Anna Willis Robertson of Marshfield, Mo.; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
(Published on November 22, 1997)
