Archives for November 2008

Ethel May Triplett Logsdon, 95, died Wednesday, November 19, 2008, in Claude.

Services were held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 22, 2008, in the First Baptist Church in Claude with Rev. Delbert Serratt, officiating. Burial was held in Claude Cemetery in Claude. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Mrs. Logsdon was born May 8, 1913, in Kingfisher County, Okla. to Murrell and Mary Sladek Triplett. She married Lloyd Elson Logsdon on August 24, 1930 in Woodward, Oklahoma. She had been resident of Armstrong County since 1930. She helped her husband with farming and ranching for many years. She would go visit with new people in town to welcome them to Claude and had a service heart as long as she could do it. She did those things until she was 93. She had a life of friends and many good friends would travel with her and her husband to their cabin in Raton, NM. She was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Claude where she taught Sunday school until she was 90, and was active in their puppet ministry where they traveled to Brazil and Mexico.

She was preceded in death by her husband, on April 20, 1982; her parents, seven brothers, and two sisters.

Survivors include twp daughters, Carolyn Wilkes and husband Stan of Arlington, and Phyllis Davis of Dallas; four grandchildren, Andrea Willson and husband Gary of Ft. Worth, Gray Wilkes and wife Debbie of Arlington, Craig Yarbrough of Dallas, and Michelle Cope and husband Bill of Bloomington, IL; six great grandchildren, Luke and Logan Willson, Ashlyn and Ryan Wilkes, and Taylor and Tucker Cope;
The family requests memorial contributions be made to the First Baptist Church in Claude.

Gwen Sears,   72, of  Clarendon formerly of Dimmitt passed away Thursday, November 13, 2008, in Clarendon.

Services were held Monday, November 17, 2008, at Abundant Life Family Church in Dimmitt at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Tom Mullins officiating, burial followed at West Lawn Memorial Park in Dimmitt. Arrangements were being handled by Colonial Funeral Home of Dimmitt.

Gwen was born March 13, 1936, in Plainview, to Alvin and Lou Anna Cargill. She moved from Plainview to Dimmitt in 1968 and lived in Dimmitt until 2000 and moved to Clarendon. She married A.L. Sears in 1960 in Plainview. She drove a school bus for Dimmitt Independent School District for many years. She was also in the restaurant business.

She is survived by four sons; Alvie Lee Sears of Glendale, Ariz., Ronnie Sears of Dimmitt, Jay and Bill Sears both of Snyder. Four daughters; Brenda Black and Ginger McRee both of Clarendon, Gwen Cooksey and Deanna Birdwell both of Dimmitt. One brother Fred Cargill of Tulia and one sister Elizabeth Bench of Plainview; 31 grandchildren and 28 Great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband A.L. Sears in 2004, two sons, Danny Sears and Mike Sweet, two grandchildren, three brothers and one sister.
You may go online and sign the online guestbook at www.colonialfuneralhome.org.

Wade A. McConnell, 63, died Friday, November 14, 2008, in Amarillo.

Services were held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, in the Robertson

Funeral Directors Chapel of Memories in Clarendon with Rev. Bryan Knowles, Retired Baptist Minister, and Ty Jones, Pastor of the Cowboy Church and the Arena of Life in Amarillo, officiating. Burial was held at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon with military honors performed by the United States Army. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Wade was born May 7, 1945, in Chickasha, Okla. to James Robert and Elsa Christine Capps McConnell. He married Brenda Cheryl Osburn on December 17, 1967, in Clarendon. He was a US Army Veteran having served in the Vietnam War. He had been a resident of Clarendon most of his life. He had been a heavy equipment operator for several companies. He was a member of the VFW.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Willard McConnell, and a sister Bertha Mantooth.

Survivors include his wife, Brenda of Clarendon; a son, Clint McConnell and wife Kathleen of Amarillo; a daughter, Delinah Mills of Amarillo; two brothers, Harold McConnell and Harlon McConnell, both of Alex, Okla.; a sister, Louise Harvey of Blanchard, Okla.; five grandchildren, and many other family members and dear friends.
The family requests memorial contributions be made to BSA Hospice in Amarillo, or VA Hospice c/o Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center.

Robert Lee Tolbert, Jr.,  64, died Thursday, November 13, 2008, in Clarendon.

Services were held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 15, 2008, in the Community Fellowship Church in Clarendon with Rev. Roger Smith, Pastor of the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Amarillo, officiating. Burial followed at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon with military honors performed by the United States Army. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Robert was born April 19, 1944, in Clarendon to Robert Lee Tolbert, Sr. and Betty Owesa Lamb Tolbert. Robert was born and raised on the farm that was purchased by his grandfather A.T. Tolbert in 1916. Robert Jr. bought the farm in 1997 from Betty Tolbert. He was enlisted in the US Army July 1965 transferred to Ft. Eustis Virginia where he served as a supply specialist (SP4T). His decorations include Expert Marksman with a M-14 rifle, Good Conduct medal, Army Service Medal, and in July 1967 he was honorably discharged. After the service he got into engineering and construction work for Brown & Root, Page & Wirt, Missouri Valley, and High Plains Builders. He was a carpenter and a farmer. He married Barbara Scott on August 5, 1981 in Landers, Wyoming. He could be seen most weekends selling produce and visiting with friends at the farmers market in Amarillo. He also enjoyed working with the kids at church and the live stock shows. He was a member of the Community Fellowship Church in Clarendon.

He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Tolbert, Sr. on June 15, 1994; and a brother, William “Bill” Tolbert on November 6, 2008.

He leaves behind his wife of 27 wonderful years, Barbara Sue of Clarendon; his mother, Betty Tolbert of Clarendon; four sons, Kenneth Lee Tolbert, Sr. of Fritch, Tommy J. Brooks of Dumas, Kenneth Lee Tolbert, Jr. and Robert Lee Tolbert, III both of Clarendon; two daughters, Gwyn Ann Mitchell of Mobile, Alabama, and Debra Elaine Tolbert of Amarillo; a brother, Jack Tolbert of Amarillo; nine grandchildren, Kenzi, Dalton, Megan, Jessica, Kevin, Andrew, Ashton, Alexis, and Abbey.

The family requests memorial contributions be made to the Odyssey Hospice in Amarillo, or Donley County Livestock Association.

Jo Bearden Welty, 76, Friday, November 14, 2008, in Lewisville.

Services were held at the First Baptist Church in Clarendon at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 17, 2008. Rev. Eddy Helms, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Tulia, and Rev. Lance Wood, pastor of First Baptist Church of Clarendon, officiated. Burial was held in the family plot in the Shamrock Cemetery in Shamrock at 2:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Jo Welty was born Nelly Jo Bearden Oct 20 1932 in Anson, Texas to Mary and Elmer Bearden. She grew up in and around Anson and moved to Shamrock in her early teens. She met and married Charles Burton ”Buck” Welty on December 25, 1949 in Shamrock. Buck, her husband and best friend for over 58 years, preceded her in death on July 11, 2008. Jo went back to college in 1961 after her three kids had started school taking classes while her children were in school and during the summers. She did her student teaching at Humphrey’s Highland Elementary School in the spring of 1967. Jo graduated from West Texas State University with a Bachelors of Science in1967 as an honors member of Alpha Chi Omega Honors Society. She continued her college education while working, taking evening and summer classes. She earned her master’s degree in Education from WTSU in 1974. She taught elementary music and science in Amarillo for 27 years from 1967 to 1992. 26 of those years were at Lawndale Elementary, where she was teaching second generations when she retired in 1992. While teaching music, she served as President of Kodaly Educators of Texas, was Southern Division Chairman of Organization of America Kodaly Educators, and was very active in Texas Music Educators Association. Jo and her daughter, Joburta spent several years working on her Kodaly retrivial guide to obtain her certification in 1988 for Kodaly Methods of Teaching. She was a charter member of the certification program for the Kodaly Center of America. Jo enjoyed camping, water skiing, snow skiing and traveling with her family. She was also a master quilter, completing a quilt for each of her children and grandchildren. Jo was a member of First Baptist Church Clarendon since 1971. She served as a Sunday School Teacher and taught Via the Television Ministry for the last four years. She and her husband, Buck, were charter members of Eastridge Baptist Church in 1955. Jo was active in the Woman’s Missionary Union at several Amarillo Churches. She taught at the Women’s Job Corps at My Father’s House in Lubbock. She and her husband Buck spent their retirement years working with the Texas Baptist Men Camp Builders. In 2004, they spent a month in Gateshead, England.

She is preceded in death by her husband on July 11, 2008; her parents, multiple aunts, uncles and cousins

Survivors include her children Dan Welty of Coppell and wife Terri; Joburta and Eddy Helms of Tulia, Melody and Dane Jones of Lewisville; grandchildren Austin and Melissa Welty of Coppel, Melinda and Chris Huddleston of Lubbock; Carrie and Jay Tippen of Philipi West Virginia; Andra and Joel Vaughn of Canyon, Evan Jones of Lewisville; a great grandson, Hal Huddleston of Lubbock; a sister-in-law, Billie Welty of Amarillo; three nephews, Michael Welty Jr. of Washburn, Jeff Welty of Dallas, Michael Welty III of Lubbock, Robert Hampton of Englewood, Fl., a niece Debra Dow of Cheney WA, and many family members.

Lori Bulman, 50, died Thursday, November 13, 2008, in Amarillo.

Services were held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, November 17, 2008, in the Robertson Funeral Directors Chapel of Memories in Clarendon with Dick Marcear, minister of The Church of Christ at The Colonies in Amarillo, officiating.

Burial followed at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.

Lori was born October 22, 1958 in Sacramento, Calif. She was the daughter of Chuck Esser. She was raised by her aunt and uncle, George and Dolores Masdea, who she referred to as her parents. She married Joe Bulman in May of 1991 at Canyon. She had been a US Navy veteran. She also was a school teacher in public schools as well as the military. She loved teaching overseas. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Amarillo.

Survivors include her husband, Joe of Amarillo; her parents, George and Dolores Masdea of Pennsylvania; two sons, Corey Garms of San Antonio, and Hunter Scott Bulman of Amarillo; and a mother-in-law, Shirley Bulman of Amarillo.
The family requests memorial contributions be made to a favorite charity.

Walter Robert Bell, 95, died Thursday, October 16, 2008, in Dallas.

Memorial services will be held at noon on November 15, 2008, in the First Assembly of God in Clarendon with Rev. Matthew Stidham, Pastor, officiating. An additional memorial service will be held on November 30, 2008, at 4:00 pm at Westlake Community Church, 29295 Agoura Rd., Agoura Hills, CA 91301 with a reception following at the home of Maggie Boring. Inurnment will be held at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon on the Bell Family Lot. Services were under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Walter Robert Bell was born in Clarendon, the son of Mitchell Edward and Tillie Nelson Bell. Walter’s father was a “JA Cowboy” when he met Walter’s mother and married her in 1895. Shortly after they were married, they moved to Battle Creek near Clarendon; and then in 1907, the Bells moved into Clarendon so the kids could get a better education. Walter was the fifth of six children and one of five boys. Having survived the Great Depression pumping gas at a Clarendon filling station and helping his family grow food on their farm for not only themselves but for many other families less fortunate, Walter met Zella Griegsby of Hedley and married her on October 15, 1940. Walter spent 40 years working for The Bendix Corporation, most recently as a Product Manager. He retired in 1978. During Walter’s retirement years, he spent many hours each week volunteering for Food Share, the Ventura County Food Bank in Camarillo, Calif., until his eyesight gave out. He also loved volunteering at the local hospital. Walter was a Mason and member of Ventura Council No. 15 Cryptic Masons in Ventura, Calif. He was also a member of Christian Church of the Hills in Agoura, Calif. where he was very active and had many close friends. One of Walter’s greatest pleasures in his later years was bowling. Although he was blind due to macular degeneration, his average was 118. He used to say that it wasn’t about the score, it was about the people. Although Walter suffered much sadness during his 95 years, he always had a positive outlook and a kind, gentle word for anyone who needed it. His generosity was overflowing. To know Walter was to love him, and he loved back with affection and sincerity. Walter’s last years were such a blessing to those he chose to care for him. He was never a burden; just a sweet, sweet darling man adored by all. He will be terribly missed. He was preceded in death by his wife, Zella; and their two children: Walter R. (Butch) Bell who died in 1989, and Susan Margo who died in 2001. Walter is survived by two grandchildren, Jennifer Albaeck and husband Trent of Newbury Park, Calif., and Adam Bell Carlson of Houston; two great-grandchildren, Conner and Delanie Albaeck of Newbury Park, Calif.; a daughter-in-law, Phyllis Bell, of Newbury Park; a son-in-law, Ken Carlson and wife Deborah Muse of Dallas who had the privilege of caring for Walter the three years before his recent death.

Joe C. Spann, 80, retired Texas coach and teacher, passed away November 7, 2008, at his home in Wichita, Kansas.

He was born June 3, 1928, in Wichita Falls.  He is survived by his wife, Naoma; a daughter, Carla (Dan) Labus of Wichita, Kan.; a son, Mark (Patti) of Lindale, Texas; two granddaughters, Kelly Davis of Wichita and Kayla Spann of Lindale; two grandsons, Garrett (Lindsay) of Wichita and Matt (Brittany) of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and two great-grandsons, Graceson and Gavin of Sioux Falls.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Marjoire and step-mother Dorothy; his sister, Zell; his twin brother, John Lee; and his brother, Sam.

Joe grew up in Munday, Texas, and attended West Texas State, where he and his twin brother played football.  They were both on the West Texas State football team in 1951 that was the Sun Bowl Champions.

Joe coached and taught several teams in and around the Panhandle.

A visitation was held at Baker Funeral Home in Wichita on Monday, November 10.  Funeral services were at the Kechi United Methodist Church on Tuesday, November 11, at 10:00 a.m., and burial was at the Kechi cemetery.

Memorials may be given to: Kechi United Methodist Church; Hospice Care of Kansas; or Alzheimer’s Association of the Great Plains.