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Charles Martin
BROWNWOOD - Charles P. Martin, 64, of Lake Brownwood died Sunday at his home after a lengthy illness.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Davis-Morris Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Don Roath officiating. Burial will be in Eastlawn Memorial Park.
Mr. Martin was born in Brownwood and graduated from Brownwood High School. He attended Tarleton State University and graduated from North Texas State University with a bachelor's degree. He graduated from McNeese University with a master's degree and from Lamar University with an associate's degree. He retired as a major after 17 years in the Air Force. He retired after teaching junior high in Port Arthur for 23 years and returned to Brownwood in 1993. He married Marvis Erickson in 1956 in Lake Lilian, Minn.
Survivors include his wife, of Lake Brownwood; two sons, Neil Martin of Austin and James Martin of Beaumont; his mother, Ethel Martin of Brownwood; one sister, Elwanda Bruce of Brownwood; two grandsons, one niece and one nephew.
The family will be at the funeral home from 6:30-7:30 p.m. today.
Memorials may be made to Brownwood Renal Center, 118-A South Park Drive, Brownwood 76801.
(Published on November 4, 1997)
Elbert Utzman
BROWNWOOD - Elbert H. Utzman, 89, of Burleson and formerly of Brownwood, died Monday at a Fort Worth hospital.
Graveside services will be at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Indian Creek Cemetery in Indian Creek, directed by Davis-Morris Funeral Home.
Mr. Utzman was born in Indian Creek and lived in Brown County all his life. He retired after 40 years with GTE and was a 50-year member of Indian Creek Masonic Lodge. He was a member of First Baptist Church. He married Marguerite Brown in 1927 in Brownwood.
Survivors include his wife, of Burleson; one son, Hugh Utzman of Burleson; three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild and a number of nieces and nephews.
The family will be at the funeral home from 6-7 p.m. today.
(Published on November 4, 1997)
Janet Parkey
Educator Janet Parkey, who soothed the transition of the first class of high school students affected by boundary changes, died Tuesday after a brief battle with cancer. She was 55.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest with the Revs. Scott Mayer and Bill Martin officiating. The body will be cremated. Arrangements are under the direction of Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home.
Parkey's friends and colleagues admired her quiet championing of students, especially those with disadvantaged backgrounds.
"She had a true soft spot in her heart for the underdogs, the kids who don't have the fairest shakes in life," Abilene High Principal Royce Curtis said. "She was willing to help kids by holding their hand and walking them through life. Not many people are willing to do that."
Parkey taught home economics from 1979-91 at Madison Middle School and Abilene High before being assigned to an administrative post in charge of special grants. She was promoted in 1992 to associate principal at Abilene High.
She served at Abilene High until this year when her health forced her reassignment to secondary curriculum coordinator.
During her 33-year career, perhaps Parkey's most challenging assignment was smoothing the transition of the first class to enter Abilene High affected by divisive boundary changes.
School board president Betty Davis, Parkey's neighbor for 17 years, recalled that after being assigned as principal for the freshman class in 1993, Parkey committed herself to making the boundaries work by making the incoming students "feel like Eagles."
Four years later, Parkey helped the Class of '97 establish a scholarship fund for a "solid B student" needing help to attend college. The graduates responded to her recent illness by renaming the scholarship program in her honor.
"She didn't think everyone had to be the same and she didn't demand they meet her standards," Davis said. "She let people be who they were.
Parkey was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer eight months ago. Following surgery earlier this month and in the past few weeks, her peers and students at Abilene High rallied to her aid, donating hundreds of dollars in "love offerings" to help her family with expenses.
Janet Grace Wilson Parkey was born New Years Day 1942 in Kittanning, Pa. She earned a bachelor's degree in home economics from Oklahoma State University in 1964 and began teaching in Texas City.
She moved to Abilene in 1979 after earning a master's degree from Texas Tech.
Parkey was a member and lay reader at Heavenly Rest.
Parkey is survived by two sons, James Neil Parkey of Wichita Falls and John Randale Parkey of South Lafayette, Ind.; a daughter, Carole Elizabeth Parkey of Yonkers, N.Y.; a brother, John Russell Wilson of Red Bank, Pa.; and a sister, Carole Elaine Parkey of Little Rock, Ark.
Memorials may be sent to the Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest, 602 Meander, Abilene, Texas 79602; St. Mary's Episcopal Church, c/o John Wilson, RD 2 Box 170, Templeton, Pa. 16259; or the Janet Parkey Scholarship Fund AHS Class of 1997, Abilene Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1001, Abilene, Texas 79604.
(Published on November 5, 1997)
Emma Thelma McNeill
Emma Thelma McNeill, 98, died Tuesday at her home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in San Saba Church of Christ with Alvis Cooley and Ross Blasingame officiating. Burial will be in China Creek Cemetery near San Saba, directed by Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 542 Hickory.
Mrs. McNeill was born in Bertram, where she attended school, and was a homemaker. She moved to Abilene in 1969 from Brownwood. She was a member of 11th and Willis Church of Christ and was the widow of Benjamin Franklin McNeill, whom she married in 1919 in Bertram.
Survivors include one daughter, Modell Gunter; two grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6-9 p.m. today in the funeral home.
Leamon 'L.R.' Guinn
Leamon "L.R." Guinn, 78, of Potosi, died Tuesday at his home.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in Elmwood Funeral Home Chapel, 5750 U.S. Hwy 277 South, with the Rev. Friday Couch officiating. Burial will be in Potosi Cemetery.
Mr. Guinn was born in Weatherford and was a radio operator and mechanic with the U.S. Army Air Corps. He moved to Abilene in 1955 from Albany and was a member of Rotan Masonic Lodge 956 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2012. He was a Baptist and was the widower of Doreen Carpenter Guinn, whom he married in 1943 in Marion, Ark.
Survivors include one son, William Guinn of Abilene; two daughters, Marcia Boggess of Abilene and Betty Potter of Beaumont; 13 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
(Published on November 5, 1997)
Aaron Lynn Bell
STAMFORD - Aaron Lynn Bell, 37, died Sunday from injuries received in an automobile accident.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in Stamford First Baptist Church with the Revs. Randall Stewart and James Brigham officiating. Burial will be in Highland Memorial Cemetery, directed by Tankersley Funeral Home.
Mr. Bell was born in Stamford, where he graduated from high school in 1978, and formerly lived in Hamlin. He was a former member of Stamford First Baptist Church. He was a deacon at Central Baptist Church in Stamford and also was a member of Hamlin First Baptist Church.
Survivors include one son, Christopher Bell of Hamlin; one daughter, Destiny Bell of Hamlin; his mother, Bobbie Bell Nieto of Stamford; three brothers, Clifton Bell, Harley Bell and Milton Bell, all of Stamford; three sisters, Emily McNair of Forrest City, Ark., Shirley Breeden of Abilene and Nancy Acosta Henthorne of Stamford; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be sent to Central Baptist Church, P.O. Box 649, Stamford 79553; or a favorite charity.
(Published on November 5, 1997)
Ellis West
HAMLIN - Ellis West, 72, named Man of the Year in 1976 by the Hamlin Chamber of Commerce, died Monday in Hamlin.
Services will be at 4 p.m. Friday in Hamlin First Baptist Church with the Revs. Tracy Watson and Frank Codington officiating. Burial will be in Hamlin East Cemetery, directed by Foster-Adams Funeral Home.
Mr. West was born in Blair, Okla., where he grew up, and served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. He married Cleo Berry in 1947 in Hobart, Okla., and moved to Hamlin in 1960 from Clinton, Okla. He then worked as the superintendent of the Hamlin Oil Mill until 1970. He was public works superintendent for the city of Hamlin from 1970-90. He was a former Lions Club president and was a Hamlin volunteer firefighter for 20 years. He was president of the Hamlin Swimming Pool Foundation from 1971-81 and was a charter member of the Hamlin Dove Classic. He was active in the Hamlin Ex-Students Association and Calico Kickers Square Dancing Club, and was the city's Santa Claus for many years. He was a member of Boy Scouts of America and First Christian Church.
Survivors include his wife, of Hamlin; two daughters, Violet Pedersen of Abilene and Vickie Crowley of Hamlin; and four grandchildren.
(Published on November 5, 1997)
