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John E. Creagh
BRECKENRIDGE — John E. Creagh, 69, died Saturday in an Abilene hospital.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today in the First United Presbyterian Church in Breckenridge with the Rev. Andy Channer officiating. Burial will be in Breckenridge Cemetery, directed by Morehart Mortuary of Breckenridge.
Mr. Creach was born in Tulia, attended school in Hearne and graduated from Breckenridge High School in 1948. He also attended Tarleton State College. He is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He married Ruth Hicks on Feb. 15, 1953, in Abilene. He worked for the Corral Drive-In and Soxie Vincent as an electrician. He formed Creagh Electric in 1960. He served as deacon and treasurer at the First United Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include his wife of Breckenridge; one daughter, Sharee Cummings of Grapevine; one son, James Creagh II of Breckenridge; one brother, Buster Creagh of Horseshoe Bay; three sisters, Martha Klatt of Weatherford, Joan Stuard of Horseshoe Bay, and Peggy Creagh of Breckenridge; three grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to the Scholarship Fund of the First United Presbyterian Church in Breckenridge and may be left with the funeral home.
(Published June 14, 1999)
Sister Margaret Ellen Gallatin
Sister Margaret Ellen Gallatin, 73, a longtime educator familiar to many at Abilene’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church, died Friday in San Antonio after almost three weeks in a coma after a fall and severe blow to the head.
Burial mass will be at 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of the Lake Sacred Heart Chapel in San Antonio. Rev. Paul Gallatin, a nephew of Sister Margaret Ellen, will preside.
A member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence in San Antonio, Sister Margaret Ellen taught English, Latin and journalism at St. Joseph and Central Catholic High in Abilene from 1955-67. She suffered her fall only months after being inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame.
“It’s very sad,” Marie Herb of Abilene said of the popular sister, who occasionally returned to Abilene to visit families of students she taught. “She was a remarkable woman and she’ll definitely be missed here. We plan to have a memorial mass for her in Abilene sometime this summer.”
Sister Rose Marie Gallatin, who was also Sister Margaret Ellen’s biological sister, said her sibling had been unconscious since the May 23 accident. She had recently been moved to nursing facilities at Our Lady of the Lake Convent.
Along with another biological sister who also became a sister in the church, Sister Huberta, Sister Rose Marie released a statement: “Two great loves of Sister Margaret Ellen’s life were family and Congregation. She gave herself generously, faithfully and lovingly to both. The depth of her gift is immeasurable.”
By all accounts an energetic, good-humored woman who attended the University of Texas on a Wall Street Journal scholarship, Sister Margaret Ellen participated in hearings on the Vatican’s proposed letter regarding women and wrote a report of the historic discussions for Archbishop Patrick Flores to dispatch to Rome.
Born in Vinita, Okla., with the baptismal name Anna Teresa, Sister Margaret Ellen entered the Congregation in 1943, became a novice in 1945 and made her profession the following year. Her ministry was in education as a high school teacher during most of her career. At one point she was principal of Central Catholic High in Abilene.
“And,” she once said of her dozen years in Abilene, “I loved every minute of it.”
In 1981, she was asked to establish a communications office for the Sisters of Divine Providence. In that capacity she edited The CDP Times. At the time of her death, she was interviewing older members of the Congregation of Divine Providence for a book. She also did public relations for Our Lady of the Lake University.
“As a longtime English teacher,” she said during her induction into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame, “I strongly recommend that, to put our stamp on America, our schools teach good writing skills and stress not only the opportunities that such skills provide but also the responsibility to use our language well.”
Preceding her in death were four brothers and a sister.
Survivors include Elizabeth Auer of Colorado Springs, Colo., Sister Huberta Gallatin of Our Lady of the Lake Convent in San Antonio and Sister Rose Marie Gallatin, alumnae director of Providence High School in San Antonio.
(Published June 15, 1999)
Lena Roberts Basham
Lena Roberts Basham, 94, of Clyde, died Sunday in a local nursing center.
Private family graveside services will be Wednesday in Abilene with Mac Fitzgerald officiating, directed by Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 542 Hickory.
Mrs. Basham was born in Taylor County and attended school in the Pleasant Hill Community. She worked for Consolidated Aircraft in Fort Worth during World War II. She was the widow of Claude O. Basham on March 15, 1944 in Fort Worth. She had lived in McCaskill, Ark. for a number of years. She was a homemaker and a member of Avery’s Chapel and Assembly of God in Ark.
Survivors include two nieces, Joyce Cheatham of Clyde and June Exum of Abilene; one nephew, Jack Roberts of Ozan, Ark.; and several great nephews and great-great-nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be from 6-7 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the donor’s favorite charity.
(Published June 15, 1999)
Rev. Alfred C. Altum
Rev. Alfred C. Altum, 72, of Abilene, died Sunday at a local hospital.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 16 at Paint Creek Baptist Church with the Revs. J.W. Holloway and Jimmy Griffith officiating. Graveside committal service will be at 4:30 p.m. in Elmwood Memorial Park in Abilene, directed by Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 542 Hickory.
Rev. Altum was born in Hamlin and had lived in the Abilene area off and on since 1944. He served in the U.S. Navy and became a commissioned Chaplain in 1950. He was a retired Baptist minister. He married Murl Mercer on Nov. 16, 1982, in Abilene. He has pastored the Paint Creek Baptist Church for the last four years. He was a member of AARP and Abilene Regional Medical Center Seniors.
Survivors include his wife of Abilene; two sons, Freddy Clinton Altum of California City, Calif. and Tim Altum of Houston; three daughters, Linda Jolene Potts of Lubbock, Judy Kathleen Jeffereys of Round Rock, and Anna LaVon Barrett of Amarillo; one brother, Aubrey Ray Altum of Abilene; two sisters, Dorothy Faye Pritchett of Hamlin and Adell Trieder of Lazbuddie; 13 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. today at the funeral home.
Memorials may be made to the Paint Creek Baptist Church.
(Published June 15, 1999)
Alina Rose Wolverton
Alina Rose Wolverton, infant daughter of Daniel and Missy Wolverton of Abilene, died Friday at a local hospital.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 16 at the Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home Chapel of Faith, 5701 U.S. Hwy. 277 South with the Rev. David Berbeck officiating. Burial will be in the Elliott-Hamil Garden of Memories.
She was born on Friday in Abilene.
In addition to her parents, survivors include a brother, Daniel Wolverton Jr. of Abilene; grandparents, James and Marita Wolverton of Nikiski, Alaska, and Shane and Kim Frankie of Soldotna, Alaska; and great grandparents, George and Dorothy Meyers of Marion, Mich.
(Published June 15, 1999)
Mary Hazel Hamilton Rainey
WEINERT — Mary Hazel Hamilton Rainey, 85, died Saturday at her residence.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, at the First Baptist Church in Weinert with the Revs. Ross Anderson and Joel Rister officiating. Burial will be in the Weinert Cemetery, directed by Holden-McCauley Funeral Home of Haskell.
Mrs. Rainey was born in Haskell County. She married Russel Jonathan Rainey on July 11, 1931, in Haskell. She had been a resident of the Weinert Community for 68 years. She was a homemaker and a member of the Weinert First Baptist Church.
Survivors include her husband of Weinert; three daughters, Lora Lois Timberlake of Houston, Rubye Joyce Anderson of Weinert, and Janice Margaret Isbell of Potosi; two sons, Luther Lewis “Bud” Rainey of Friona and William Russel “Bill” Rainey of Abilene; one brother, John Morton Hamilton of Lyford; nine grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to West Texas Rehab in Abilene.
(Published June 15, 1999)
Doris Wynelle Hellums
HASKELL — Doris Wynelle Hellums, 84, died Sunday at her home.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the Goree Cemetery with the Rev. Shane Brue officiating, directed by Holden-McCauley Funeral Directors of Haskell.
Ms. Hellums was born in Goree. She lived in Dallas where she worked as a bookkeeper. She returned to Haskell in 1984. She was a member of the Haskell First United Methodist Church.
She is survived by one sister, Fae Hellums Wren, of Harlingen.
(Published June 15, 1999)
Ronald Lee Leggett
COMANCHE — Ronald Lee Leggett, 67, died Sunday in an Abilene hospital.
Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. today in the Oakwood Cemetery in Comanche with the rev. Jackie Auvenshine officiating, directed by Hall & Sons Funeral Home of Comanche.
Mr. Leggett was born in Franklin, Neb. and had lived in Comanche for the past 14 years. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and had retired as a service station attendant for a local service station. He was a Baptist.
Survivors include companion, Ona Kennemer of Comanche; two daughters, Star Brendle of Baker, Calif. and Nita Cook of Waterton, Alberta, Can.; two sisters, Francis Kingry and Eugenia Waldon of Brooks Calif.; one brother, Dwayne Leggett of Rosenburg, Ore., two grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
(Published June 15, 1999)
