L.J. Wade,Sr.

L.J. Wade,Sr., 77, died Friday in Amarillo.

Services were at 11 a.m. Monday at First Baptist Church in Panhandle with Rev. Bill Fuller, pastor officiating.  Graveside services were at 2:30 p.m. Monday in Rowe Cemetery in Hedley under the direction of Minton/Chatwell Funeral Directors of Panhandle.

Mr. Wade was born on January 25, 1927, in Hedley and had been a Panhandle resident since 1968.  He graduated from Hedley High School in 1944, drove a Coca Cola truck in 1946 and 47, and was a carpenter for Phillips Petroleum Co. from 1949 to 1968. He also worked as a remodeling contractor in the Borger area.  He opened OTASCO Home and Auto Store in Panhandle in October, 1968.  Later the name was changed to Coast to Coast Home & Auto, which he owned and operated until his retirement in 2002 because of declining health.  He previously attended Buena Vista Baptist Church in Borger and was presently a member of the First Baptist Church in Panhandle.  While working for Phillips Petroleum, Mr. Wade was a member of International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 351 in Borger.  As a businessman, Mr. Wade was previously a member of the Panhandle Rotary Club and the Panhandle Chamber of Commerce.

He married Mary Ellen Floyd in Shamrock on June 17, 1945.    He was preceded in death by his parents, V.F. and Iola Elizabeth Wade; a daughter, Bonnie Eileen; and two grandsons, Kelly Lynn Goswick and Ricky Alan McGowen.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen, of the home; five daughters – Susan McGowen and husband, Gary, of Midland; Mary Robinson and husband, Richard, of Panhandle; Bettie Valenzuela and husband, Richard, of Childress; Jenny Lycan and husband, Mark, of Panhandle; Johna Figueroa and husband, Mark, of Borger; one son, John Wade of Panhandle; one sister – Laverne Harrison and husband, Hoover, of Amarillo; ten grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

 Casket bearers were Richard Robinson, Gary McGowen, Richard Valenzuela, Mark Lycan, Mark Figueroa, and John Wade.