Ronald Earl Hood
1939 - 2015
Ronald Earl Hood, 75, of Tarpley passed away Saturday, June 13, 2015. Ron, the oldest child of Earl W. Hood and Marie Partin Hood, was born Sept. 17, 1939, in Shepherd, Texas. Ron married
Shirley LeBouf on June 5, 1965, and had recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Following his graduation from Robert E. Lee High School in Baytown, Ron served in the US Navy as an Aviation Electronics Technician.
After his service in the Navy, he obtained both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Wildlife Science from Texas A&M; University. Upon graduation, he worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, having served in Lafayette, Louisiana; Atlanta, Georgia; Anchorage, Alaska; and King Salmon, Alaska. He completed his career as the Refuge Manager of the Alaska Peninsula/Becharof National Wildlife Refuges.
His retirement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service entailed spending both his time and love to raise his three grandsons Erikk, Peter, and Robert. In addition, he devoted over 10,000 hours volunteering at the Old Tunnel State Park and continued to share his passion for nature as a certified Texas Master Naturalist.
Ron was preceded in death by his parents, and sister, Gladys Ann Hood. He is survived by his wife; three grandsons - Erikk Hood, a graduate student in El Paso, Texas; Peter Hood, a Marine stationed in Oceanside, California; and Robert Hood; sisters Edna Cheatham of Burnet, and Sharon Schneider of Sebring, Florida; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
He will especially be missed by his bird hunting cousins, Richard Hood and Don Foster.
Visitation will be held from 6-8 pm Friday, June 19, at the Grimes Funeral Chapel in Bandera. The funeral service and burial will begin at 10 am on Saturday, June 20 at the Tarpley cemetery.
Dr. Terry Eugene Anderson
1940-2015
Dr. Terry Eugene Anderson, 75, of St. Louis, Missouri, and formerly of Bandera, cowboy preacher, rode to heaven's gate on a beautiful spring morning, Sunday, April 26.
Terry is survived by his daughter, Dawn Ellen Anderson, of St. Charles, Missouri; son-in-law Kent Patterson and two grandsons, Andrew and Matthew, also of St. Charles; brother, Denny Anderson and his wife, Judy, of Sequim, Washington; sister, Jill Anderson (Leander Tamoria) of Cambria, California; nephews, Brooke and Pat Smith and Jonah Tamoria; former wife Cathy Brumbaugh Anderson of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and stepdaughters, Laura and Carrie Bierck of Dallas and Seattle, Washington, respectively.
He was predeceased by his wife, Michele Ellen Anderson; parents, Eugene "Bud" Anderson and Sarah Darline Anderson of Kearney, Nebraska; and brother Jock Anderson, also of Kearney.
Terry was born on Jan. 3, 1940 in Kearney to Bud and Darline Anderson. He and his brother, Denny, were bonafide farm boys until they moved into the town of Kearney when Terry was 16. Later that same year, Terry learned to change diapers when his baby sister, Jill, was born.
After high school, he attended Kearney Teachers College for two years before graduating from Utah State University in 1962, earning his degree in Wildlife Management. From 1962 to 1976, Terry worked in predator control for the Department of the Interior, US Fish and Wildlife. Terry also served in the United States Army Reserves.
While working in Beaumont, he met his wife, Michele Ellen Yantis. The couple was married
in Houston in 1963. They had one daughter, Dawn Ellen Anderson, in 1967.
While Terry was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico and attending St. Paul United Methodist Church, he felt a calling in to the ministry. Consequently, he left coyotes and trappers and sheep ranchers behind to become a man of the cloth.
After graduating from St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1979, Terry returned to New Mexico where he was ordained as a United Methodist Minister in the New Mexico Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Over the next 30-plus years, he served churches in Estancia, Mountainair, Encino, Las Vegas, Clovis and Albuquerque, New Mexico and Kermit, Texas. Terry also served as District Superintendent of the Albuquerque District for four years. He earned his Doctorate of Ministry degree from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois in 1990. Terry retired in 2003 while serving as senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Albuquerque.
In 2011, he moved to Bandera, the Cowboy Capital of the world, where he planned to live out the rest of his retirement years. However, in 2013, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri to be near his daughter, son-in-law and grandsons.
In addition to his ministerial career, Terry played guitar, loved country music and would go nowhere without donning his cowboy hat and boots. He knew every great barbecue place between St. Louis, Texas, New Mexico and Nebraska, and he rarely turned down a piece of pecan pie or a red chili cheese enchilada. Terry also had a passion for playing golf and loved playing softball.
His family and friends remember his loving heart, sense of humor and his burning passion to serve Christ and the people he came in to contact with each and every day. In the last years of his life, he tutored children at the Bandera Boys and Girls Club and was an active member of Bandera United Methodist Church in Bandera and The Gathering United Methodist Church in St. Louis.
Terry passed away peacefully in his home, which was a part of Dolan Dementia Care Centers in St. Louis. The family extends its love and never-ending thanks to the caregivers at Dolan. They are now officially a part of the Anderson family and the dignity and love with which they cared for Terry will never be forgotten.
Scheduled memorial services include:
• 11 am, Saturday, May 9, at First United Methodist Church, 4500 Linden Drive, Kearney, NE 68847 with lunch following; and
• 4 pm, Saturday, May 16, at First United Methodist Church, 314 Lead Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 with reception following
All are welcome to attend and celebrate Terry's life. Tributes can be made to the Alzheimer's Association. Please visit Terry's tribute page at http://act.alz.org/goto/cowboypreacher to make a tribute gift; New Mexico Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation, Inc., PO Box 9, Belen, NM 87002; and Boys Town National Headquarters, 200 Flanagan Boulevard, PO Box 8000, Boys Town, NE 68010
Donald Ray Burris Jr.
1973-2015
Donald Ray Burris Jr., 41, of Bandera, passed away Monday, May 18, in Bandera. He was born in San Antonio on Dec. 28, 1973 to Donald and Karen Burris.
Donald lived at the Cedar Creek Care Center where he loved to greet people at the doors as they came in to visit their loved ones. A faithful member of Twin Lakes Independent Baptist Church, he enjoyed attending church.
When Donald wasn't in church, he was especially fond of Disney World, which he visited five times. He enjoyed animated movies and watching his many DVDs. Donald also found parades entertaining, especially San Antonio's Fiesta and Flambeau parades.
He is survived by his mother, Karen Burris, of Bandera; sisters, Theresa Wilkerson and her husband, Jeff Sr., and Jeannette Jeffers and her husband, Bill, all of Bandera; nephews, Jeff Wilkerson Jr. and his wife, Cara, and great-niece Kinley, and Justin Wilkerson and his wife, Melissa, and great-nephew Owen; and uncles, Chip Needels of New Mexico and Keith and Wayne, both of San Antonio.
Donald was predeceased by his father, Donald Ray Burris Sr., who passed away in 2009.
Visitation will be from 2 pm to 3 pm, Friday, May 22, at Twin Lakes Independent Baptist Church, with the service beginning at 3 pm. Pastor Alan W. Otten will officiate and interment will follow at Bandera cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Justin Wilkerson, Jeff Wilkerson Jr., Martin Jeffers, Bobby Wilkerson, Grady Desmuke and Jimmy Brown.
RL Walker
1922 - 2015
RL Walker, 92, passed away June 25, 2015 at his home in Medina, surrounded by his wife, Billie Marie Walker and other family members.
He was born Dec. 19, 1922, at Yoakum, Texas. He was the eldest of 11 children.
His parents were Tina Mae McGrew and Charles Daniel Walker. He was the descendant of two pioneer Bandera County families, Grandmother Melvina Bandy and Grandfather James Washington Walker, who herded camels at Camp Verde in 1863. RL lived in Medina most of his life, where he attended school before entering the military service in January 1942.
After completion of basic training at Jackson, Mississippi, he served with the 9th Air Force 344th Bomb Group where the Martin's B-26 Marauder came off the assembly line without being flight-tested and consequently became known as the Widow Maker.
RL was in Aircraft Maintenance and flew as one of three flight engineers assigned to his group when the phrase, "One a day in Tampa Bay" was popular. After the B-26 was modified, it became one of the safest bombers to be in the European Theater during WWII.
After RL was sent to Curtis Electric Prop Specialist School and Emery Riddle School of Aviation in Miami he was grounded as being more valuable on the ground than in the air. The 344th participated in D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge as well as several other battles during the 20 months R.L. served in the European Theater of Operation.
Discharged from the US Army Air Corps, October 1945, he spent the next two years as a civilian at his home town of Medina. During that time he met and married
Billie Davenport of Bandera, on August 1, 1946. Their loving union produced a son, Charles Claybourne Walker, that both became very proud of and loved very much.
In January 1947, RL reenlisted in the Air Force and spent the next 12 years as an athletic instructor where he instructed, coached, and played all the major and minor sports. His most outstanding baseball season was in 1951. After a season of 22-3 record, he tossed two one-hitters and pitched a doubleheader allowing but four hits. RL was an excellent hitter, with a 300 plus average that included three home runs and 15 other extra hits.
He was selected to be on the New Mexico All-State Semi-Pro Baseball Team composed of 16 players. When he pitched at the National Tournament in Wichita, Kansas, he was scouted and offered a major league tryout by the Chicago White Sox, which he declined to remain in the Air Force.
RL was unanimously selected for the Kirtland preliminary game against the Harlem Globetrotters at Albuquerque, NM. In 1956 at the North Africa/Mediterranean volleyball conference meet, RL was named most valuable player. The team advanced to play in the All Europe Tourney and he was chosen to be on the All Star Team. In 1963, he was again named MVP at the Air Training Command tournament, Randolph AFB. He coached and played on the 59th Fighter Interceptor Squadron team which swept the 1965 Intramural Volleyball Championship with a 21-0 record (actually this team was never scored on).
A qualified physical education instructor could not be recruited from the United States for the Rabat-Sale Morocco dependent school in 1956 because of political unrest, so RL was recruited as the PE instructor/coach for grades 1 through 12.
In March 1958, RL entered into training as a jet aircraft mechanic and completed his training in May of that year. He was assigned Flight Chief duties of 58 T-33's while assigned to Air Training Command. He was NCOIC of Alert Facilities, 59th Fighter Interceptor Squadron supervising maintenance on F-102 aircraft that was maintaining 24 hour alert for Northern NORAD Region. He also served as the First Sergeant of the 59th.
RL retired from the Air Force in 1966. During his military service Master Sergeant Walker received the following Decorations and Awards: Distinguished Unit Citation, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with six battle stars, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon.
After his retirement, RL worked at several jobs; Mooney Aircraft, Civilian Service at Kelly AFB and Security Service, and the US Post Office.
RL enjoyed hunting, fishing, water skiing and traveling. He visited all 50 of the United States since his retirement, mostly traveling in his motor home. One meaningful trip for RL.was for the dedication of the World War II Memorial at Washington DC. He was very proud to have been a part of the Greatest Generation.
He is survived by his wife, Billie Marie Walker; son, Charles "Clay" Walker of Medina; granddaughter, Leigh Ann and her husband Joe Limon of San Antonio; and great grandson, Josh Walker of Medina. His sisters are Tootie Feagan, Charlsie Porter, Jackie Ross, Nancy Estes, Elayne Mills, and Debra Friedman; his brother is Charles W. Walker. Sisters Wanda Lynch, Ellen McGee and Faye Jones are deceased.
A Celebration of Life was held Wednesday, July 1 at the Medina United Methodist Church. Any memorials may be sent to the benefit Medina UMC and/or the Medina Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. at PO Box 1650, Medina, Texas 78055 or at www.medinavfd.com for more information.
