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Isabel Rodriguez
ODESSA — Isabel Rodriguez, 73, of Odessa died Monday, Dec. 23, 2002, at Medical Center Hospital.
Services are pending with Martinez Funeral Home.
Bobby Esparza
ODESSA — Bobby Esparza, a son, a father, a brother, a friend, someone who you could talk to, a one in a million kind of guy. You were full of life to people who loved being around you. You had a gift of making people happy and were able to cheer up anyone in their darkest hour.
He was a great dad who brought excitement into my life. He helped people when they needed it. He was a truthful and honest person. I know he is in a better place. I will never forget my dad or anything else that we did when we were together. I love you with all my heart.
Dominica.
He passed away Monday, Dec. 9, 2002, at his residence. He was born June 21, 1964. Services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 13, 2002, at Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home.
We know that you are with Jesus Christ and that you are in a better place. One day, we will be with you glorifying God together. For now, your memories are with us.
He is survived by his parents, Robert Esparza and Carmen Ceballos, both of Odessa; daughter, Dominica Esparza of Odessa; brothers, Rudy Esparza of Dallas, Ernest Esparza of Hawaii and Prajedes Ceballos III of Odessa; sisters, Selina Betancourt, Melinda Esparza, Carmelita Ceballos and Celvia Ceballos, all of Odessa.
We would like to thank Mission Odessa, friends and family for all their support, and Nick Hernandez.
Services entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home.
Juanita ‘Nita’ Johnson
ODESSA — Juanita “Nita” Bounds Goss Johnson, 94, died at the Hospice House in Odessa Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002. She was born July 12, 1908, in Oran to the late Robert Wallace Bounds and Callie Dora Sherwood Bounds. She moved with her family to Stamford in 1909. She graduated from Stamford High School and Texas Women’s University. She did graduate studies at T.W.U., Hardin Simmons and Texas Tech.
In 1934, she married
Howard H. Goss and they had two children. In 1966, she married
Joel H. Johnson. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joel; daughter, Joan Bowers; grandson, Paul Bowers; and brothers, Robert Harry Bounds of Stamford and R.W. Bounds of California.
Mrs. Johnson was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Odessa where she was an active member in U.M.W., Sunday School, Perky Peers and the Spice of Life Seniors group. She was a retired home economics teacher and a sponsor of Future Homemakers of America. She also belonged to the Texas Retired Teachers Association and the Northside Senior Center. She was a sponsor of the Odessa Newcomers Club, serving as City Hostess from 1966 to 1979.
She is survived by her son, Robert H. Goss of Dallas; grandson, Steven Goss; granddaughters, Lisa Trutna and Susan Pierpont; three great-grandsons; sister, Virginia Loop of Stamford; several nieces and nephews and numerous friends.
Graveside services conducted by John Erwin, Pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002, at the Highland Memorial cemetery in Stamford.
Services are entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home.
Arnulfo Juarez
ODESSA — Arnulfo Juarez, 51, of Odessa passed away Sunday, Dec. 8, 2002, in Ojinaga, Mexico. He was born April 13, 1951, in Cuchillo Parado, Chihuahua, Mexico, to Santos Juarez. He was married
to Luz Maria Paredes. He was self employed and was Catholic.
He is preceded in death by his son, Arnulfo Juarez Jr. and sister, Alma Nieto. He is survived by his wife, Luz Maria Paredes Juarez of Odessa; sons, Jamie Juarez and wife Olivia of Odessa, Jason Perez, Anthony Juarez, Adrian Juarez and Andres Juarez, all of Odessa; daughters Frances Rodriguez and husband Jesse, Alma Juarez and Angela Juarez, all of Odessa; parents Felipe Nieto, mother, Santos J. Ortiz and step-father, Nicolas Ortiz, all of Odessa; brothers, Ysidro Juarez, Pablo Ortiz, Nicky Ortiz, Pedro Ortiz, all of Odessa, Rene Nieto and Roberto Nieto, both of Freeport, and Cucu Nieto of Houston; sisters, Maria Ortiz, Rosa Renteria, Lydia Payen, all of Odessa and Bertha Nieto of La Paz, Mexico; grandchildren, A.J. Juarez III, Sage Juarez, Isaiah Juarez, Jordan Juarez, Alexis Juarez, Jesalyn Rodriguez and Jaden Perez, all of Odessa.
Pallbearers will be Gabriel Rodriguez, Jesse Granado, Saul Paredes, YsidroJuarez, Manuel Lujan, Carlos Ruiz, Erasmo Paredes and Beto Rodriguez.
Rosary was recited at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2002, at Odessa Funeral Home. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church with the Rev. Gilbert Rodriguez officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill cemetery. Services by Odessa Funeral Home.
John A. Kerr Sr.
HOBBS, N.M. — John A. Kerr Sr., a long-time homicide investigator for the Anaheim, Calif., Police Department, and formerly a short-term resident of Odessa, died of cancer Sunday at a family home in Hobbs, N.M. He was 76.
Kerr, who won numerous department commendations and led or participated in investigations in some of the biggest criminal cases in Orange County, Calif., history, retired from the police force as the head of internal affairs after 26 years of service. He was a homicide investigator for nearly 18 years.
He was among the first full-time detectives appointed to Anaheim’s newly formed detective bureau in 1956.
Kerr was credited with solving the “Disneyland murder case” in the 1960s by tracking a bottle of Teachers Scotch left in the Disneyland Hotel room where a man was killed to two sailors noted to be drinkers of Teachers Scotch.
He led an investigation of the shotgun murder of the owner of the popular South Seas night club in Anaheim and the maiming of the man’s wife, both of whom had been scheduled to testify against a crime syndicate boss in the robbery of the night club.
The investigation resulted in the arrest and conviction of three crime syndicate figures who later received death sentences. The case figured prominently in California’s debate on the death penalty in the 1970s, and the mobsters’ death sentences were eventually commuted by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Kerr was involved in one of the biggest shootouts and manhunts in Orange County’s history in January 1959.
In a stakeout set to catch two suspects in an armed robbery of an Anaheim liquor store, Kerr was stationed in a back bedroom at the home of the girlfriend of one of suspects. Another officer hid in the kitchen of the woman’s home armed with a Thompson submachinegun.
The officers planned for the woman, who was cooperating with police, to tell her boyfriend she needed to get a sweater from the back bedroom so she could be out of harm’s way and Kerr and his partner could trap the suspect in the living room. But the suspect, Charles Averill, followed the woman down the hallway.
When Kerr emerged from the bedroom to spring the trap, Averill drew a pistol and fired. Kerr shoved the woman to safety in another bedroom and came up firing, hitting the suspect in the abdomen.
Severely wounded, Averill turned and fled into the living room where he encountered the officer with the machine gun, but the gun jammed. Averill’s cohort outside fired a rifle shot through the living room window, hitting the officer in the groin.
The two suspects fled into the neighboring residential area amid a gunbattle with 16 police officers. They were later caught, tried and imprisoned.
In another case Kerr investigated in the 1970s, a man was convicted of trying to kill his wife by putting a pit viper snake into the air conditioning system of their home. The woman awoke to find the snake in her bed, but she wasn’t bitten. The case helped bring about a ban in California on the import of poisonious snakes.
After retiring from the force in 1981, he established Kerr & Associates, a consulting firm that provided security and investigative services to United Western Medical Center, a chain of hospitals and nursing homes with operations in Southern California and Fort Worth, Texas.
Together with his partner Frank Oxandeboure, a former chief investigator for the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Kerr operated the consulting business until 1988.
He retired from the consulting business in 1988 and moved to Aztec, N.M., to live near his twin brother, Ernie, who died in 1994.
He is also preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Blanche Kerr, and his sister, Frances Reddy, all formerly of Denver, Colo.
After suffering a mild stroke on Aug. 9, Kerr moved in with his son, John A. Kerr Jr., in Odessa. Medical tests performed after the stroke revealed he had contracted cancer. He remained in Odessa with his son until mid-November, when he moved to Hobbs.
He is survived by his son, John, of Odessa, his daughter-in-law Mary of Hobbs, and John’s mother, Jean, of Hobbs.
No services will be held. Kerr’s ashes are to be scattered in the mountains near Durango, Colo.
Memorials may be sent to Vista Care hospice of Hobbs, N.M.
Billy Frank Bunting
HENRIETTA — Billy Frank Bunting, 76, of Odessa passed away Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2002, at Medical Center Hospital. He was born June 23, 1926, in Henrietta. He married
Betty Ross Sept. 22, 1951, in Wichita Falls. He was a U.S. Army veteran. Mr. Bunting moved to Odessa in 1970. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church and the Masonic Lodge.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Bunting of Odessa; son, Ross Bunting of Corpus Christi; daughter, Betty Hughes of Midland; brother, Bob Bunting of Henrietta; sister, Betty Thompson of Henrietta; and three grandchildren, Harrison Bunting, and Kit and Matt Hughes.
Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002, at the Hope cemetery in Henrietta.
Services entrusted to Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home.
Cecil Combest Sr.
ODESSA — Cecil “Bud” Park Combest Sr., 70, of Odessa passed away Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2002, at Home Hospice Residence in Odessa. He was born June 11, 1932, in Clarendon to Cecil and Susan Combest. Mr. Combest was a Christian and worked for 33 years as a clerk with the U.S. Postal Service. He was a member of American Legion. He loved fishing, watching football games and especially playing table tennis.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Donna Jean Combest, parents, Cecil E. and Susan Combest, and his brother, Doug Combest. He is survived by sons, Stephen Combest and Kenneth Combest, both of Odessa, Robert Combest of San Antonio and Cecil Combest Jr. of Houston; brother, Michael Combest of Elkhart, Ind.; sister, Beth Beard of Katy; and three grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today at Odessa Funeral Home. Service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002, at Odessa Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Jimmy Braswell officiating. Burial will follow at Odessa cemetery. In lieu of Flowers please make donations to Home Hospice, Door of Hope Mission, or to any charity you desire.
Services by Odessa Funeral Home.
William Jackson ‘Jack’ Feeler Jr.
ODESSA — William Jackson “Jack” Feeler Jr., died Monday, Nov. 18, 2002, at Baylor University Medical Center. He was born in Ranger May 21, 1922, to William Jackson Feeler, Sr., and Annie Claytonia Feeler. He lived in Crane for several years, and moved to Odessa in 1936. He graduated from Odessa High School in 1939. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1942 to 1945.
Mr. Feeler worked as a pipeline welder until 1962, when he, O.L. Rogge, Jr., and Bobby Brown founded Three Way Constructors, Inc. Mr. Feeler continued to operate the business until he retired in 1996.
He and his wife, Madlynne, were married
in Odessa May 28, 1982. Together they owned Lexa, Inc. They have resided in Cedar Hill since his retirement.
Mr. Feeler served as a deacon at Sherwood Baptist Church, where he was a Sunday School teacher and active member for over 30 years.
He served on the board of Bank of The West in Odessa and was a member of the Rocky Mountain Pipeline Contractors’ Association.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Johnnie Neill Feeler; his daughter, Patti Diane Stamper; and his granddaughter, Sharyle Hussey.
Jack Feeler is survived by his wife, Madlynne of Cedar Hill; sons Larry Feeler of Odessa; Billy Feeler and wife Lori of Odessa, David Hunton of Artesia, Calvin Rucker and wife Karel of Fort Worth, and Dennis Rucker of Cedar Hill; daughters Judy Pease and husband Jay of Odessa, Melody Bush of Odessa, and Carole Hunton of Odessa; and son-in-law Jim Stamper of Cedar Hill.
He is survived by grandchildren Tanisha Steadman; Kelan Stamper; Derrick, Jeffrey, and Adrianne Bush; Chase, Rachel, Natalie, Dodge, Ross, Deondra, and Ta’Lor Feeler; and Cari and Tana Rucker. He also has three surviving great-grandchildren, Kambri and Karlye Steadman and Ethan Bush.
Family visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Frank W. Wilson Funeral Directors. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002, at Sherwood Baptist Church in Odessa with the Rev. Lenard Hartley of San Angelo officiating. Graveside services will follow at Ector County cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, 3530 Forrest, Ste. 105, Dallas, Texas 75234. Arrangements are by Frank W. Wilson Funeral Directors.
Louine Graham
Louine Graham passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2002, at Medical Center Hospital. She was born in Temple on August 6, 1936. She was a graduate of Odessa High School and received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Scott and White Hospital.
She later served as Director of Nurses for Permian General Hospital in Andrews for five years. Until the time of her death, she was employed as an RN supervisor for Outreach Health Services.
Louine was preceded in death by her father, Reverend Jimmy Dolan, a founding member of Immanuel Baptist Church, her mother Nell Rector, and her brother, Jimmy Dolan, and sister, Pat Fox.
Survivors include her husband of 40 years, David Graham of Odessa; her daughter, Natalie Leach and her husband Jason of Odessa; her son, Russell Graham and his wife Alicia, and their seven-week old daughter, Lia, of Texarkana; her brother, Don Dolan and sister, Marianne Crane, both of Odessa, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Above all, Louine was a kind and caring person. She received her greatest enjoyment from helping others, be they her family, friends, or those under her professional care. She constantly sought to improve the lives of those around her. By all who knew her well, Louine will be remembered as a quiet, loving woman. Although gentle in nature, her absence signals the departure of a graceful and vibrant spirit. It is with fond remembrance that we celebrate her life.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002, at Sunset Memorial Chapel with Reverend Andy Philpott officiating. Arrangements are entrusted to Sunset Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home.
