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Mistie A'donica Watson Davis
Services for infant Mystie A'donica Watson Davis, Tool, were held Dec. 12 at Anderson Clayton Bros. Funeral Home Chapel in Kemp, with the Rev. Jim Addison officiating. Interment followed in the Tool Cemetery.
Mystie was born Dec. 6, 2004, in Kaufman and died Dec. 9, 2004, in Dallas.
She is survived by her mother, Alana Sebring Watson, and father, Josh Owen Davis; sister, Chelsea Nicole Davis; maternal grandparents, Terry and Sherrill Watson of Tool, Joe Sebring of Log Cabin and Patricia Salinas of Tyler; paternal grandparents, Earl Davis of Styx and Brenda Davis of Tyler; maternal great-grandparents, Sue and Jack Jones of Wylie, Wanda Cooper of Irving, and Ann Harrison of Tool; paternal great-grandparents, Bill and Margie Young of Tool and Jim and Dorothy Smith of Tool.
Also surviving are uncles Joseph Sebring of Wylie, Jason Eidam of Michigan, Nathan Watson of Tool, Chris Davis of Houston, Robert Davis of Kemp; and aunt, Lana Augustine of Tyler.
Oleta Mallard
Graveside services for Oleta Tidwell Mallard, 85, were held Dec. 15, 2004, at Roselawn Memorial Gardens in Seagoville.
Mallard was born Aug. 13, 1919, to Cliff and Sadie Bearden and died Dec. 12, 2004. She was preceded in death by her daughters, Leveta Santoya and Sue Ellen Knight.
She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary, VFW Post 4376, in Seven Points.
Survivors include her sisters, Claudia Smith, Jo Clements, Jerri Anderson and Thelma Stallings; grandchildren, William Santoya, David Santoya, Sarah Santoya; five great-grandchildren.
Daisy E. Howard
Services for Daisy E. Howard, 88, Mabank, were held Dec. 13, 2004, at the Eubank Memorial Chapel with Dr. James Harms officiating. Burial was in Oaklawn Cemetery under the direction of Eubank Cedar Creek Funeral Home in Mabank.
Howard was born Dec. 29, 1915, in Irving and died Dec. 8, 2004, in Athens. She was preceded in death by her father, George Washington Toney, and mother, Elice (Isadore) Toney.
She lived in Mabank for 32 years.
Survivors include her son, Wayne Howard, Mabank; sister, Louise Chrenshaw, Wylie; three grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; many other relatives and a host of friends.
Larry Skirko
A Rosary for Lawrence "Larry" Skirko, 58, Kemp, was held Dec. 15, 2004, at St. Jude Catholic Church in Gun Barrel City, and a Mass of Catholic Burial was held with Monsignor Brennan officiating. Interment followed in Baker Cemetery in Kaufman County.
Skirko was born Aug. 9, 1946, in Salt Lake City to Mary and Tony Skirko, and died Dec. 9, 2004, in Dallas. He was preceded in death by three brothers, Mike Skirko, Andrew Skirko and Rick Skirko.
Skirko was a U.S. Air Force veteran serving during the Vietnam War. When he was named billiards champion of the armed forces, he got the chance to play Willie Mosconi in a game of billiards.
He spent several years in Japan and learned to speak Japanese fluently.
He was employed in the electronics and electrical industry for more than 30 years.
More recently, he enjoyed golfing with his sons. He was a fraternal member of the Knights of Columbus and a member of St. Judes Catholic Church in Gun Barrel City.
He coached his sons in little league and was involved with them in the Tri-County area.
Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Debbie Ventura Skirko, Kemp; children, Angela Ventura and her fiance, David Moses, Kemp; Charlotte Leonard and husband, Dan, Seven Points; Jane Reichold and husband, Jason, Austin; Anthony Skirko and wife, Monica, New York, NY; Timothy Skirko, Daniel Skirko, Rosemary Skirko, Matthew Skirko and Jessica Skirko, all of Kemp; parents, Mary and Tony Skirko, Okanogan, Wash., eight grandchildren; brothers and sisters, David Skirko, Kevin Skirko, Greg Skirko, Charles Skirko, Philip Skirko and Mary Lisenby, all of Washington; Patti Traupman, Plano; Kathy Chadwick, Houston, and Charlene Goff, Idaho.
Pallbearers were Anthony Skirko, Timothy Skirko, Daniel Skirko, Kevin Skirko, Charles Skirko and Ed Traupman.
Ruby Dunn
Services for Ruby Cates Burks Dunn, 81, Mabank, were held Dec. 8, 2004, at Thompson Funeral Home, Frankston, with the Revs. Grover Talbert, Royce Barker and J.A. Griffin officiating.
Burial was in Frankston City Cemetery.
Dunn was born Oct. 19, 1923, in Walnut Grove Community in Smith County and died Dec. 13, 2004, in Athens.
She was preceded in death by her former husband, Tom Frank Burks, and infant brother.
She retired from Trane Company as a machine operator and attended First Baptist Church in Mabank.
Survivors include her husband, Edward V. Dunn, Mabank; daughter, Carolyn; J. Carroll, Henderson; stepson, Gary Dunn, Tyler; stepdaughter, Sharon Reynolds, Prosper; sisters, Violet Davis, Gladewater; Eathel Mitchell, Tyler; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; two step-great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews.
Steven Samford
Steven Kim Samford, 52, Mabank, died Dec. 9, 2004, in Kemp. He was born Jan. 31, 1952, in Dallas.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Leigh Ann Samford, and grandparents, Oscar and Clorine Baugh and Lester and Myrtle Samford.
Arrangements are under the direction of Eubank Cedar Creek Funeral Home in Mabank.
He was a drywall technician and lived in Mabank most of his life.
Survivors include his parents, Kenneth and JoAnn (Baugh) Samford, Mabank; brothers, Scott Samford, Texarkana; Kenny Samford, Gun Barrel City; Kelly Samford Jr., Payne Springs; sons, Steve Samford Jr., Payne Springs; Michael Samford, Wills Point; daughter, Tina Nicholas, Mesquite; and eight grandchildren.
M. Kyle Lievsay-Stroud
Services for M. Kyle Lievsay-Stroud, 77, Gun Barrel City, were held Dec. 13, 2004, in St. Jude Catholic Church with the Msgr. John Brennan officiating.
Burial was in Cedar Creek Memorial Park under the direction of Eubank Cedar Creek Funeral Home of Mabank.
He was born Oct. 14, 1927, in Dallas and died Dec. 9, 2004, in Tyler.
He was a printer and veteran of the U.S. Navy.
He worked for the Mabank Independent School District as traffic control and a bus driver.
Survivors include his wife, Marina Stroud, Gun Barrel City; sons, Howard Lievsay, Euless; Steve Lievsay, Mesquite; daughter, Edith Corbitt, Whitney; sister, Lola Roand, Glen Rose; grandchildren, Amber, Lisa, Amanda, Courtney and Eric; other family members and many friends.
Elbert Madera
Elbert Morris "Jack" Madera passed away Nov. 29, 2004, at the age of 76, at his ranch outside Mabank.
Madera was a loving husband, gracious father, keen businessman, trusted counselor, and dependable friend. However, all of those simple categories in life do not do justice to the full man that he was, and the full life that he led.
When he was a small school-age boy, he collected 'tolls" from those on their way into class at North Dallas High School, and he never took "no" for an answer.
He grew up on the streets around downtown Dallas, and quickly learned the tools of survival in those rough and tough times - the ability to fight, and more importantly, the ability to calmly discuss alternatives.
With World War II just completed, Jack joined the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Ocean patrolling the waters of recently surrendered Japan.
Following his service to the country he so dearly loved, Jack returned home to Dallas to begin work in a variety of businesses related to food service.
He married Glynda Ross Beene at the age of 24, and fathered his first and only child, Deborah Lynn Madera - a daughter with whom he shared a very special, warm and gentle bond.
A consummate salesman, Jack began his professional career believing that the customer was always right.
Shortly following the birth of his daughter, he joined a large food service company as a salesman. After quickly tiring of the bureaucratic ways of a diversified conglomerate, Jack founded his first enterprise.
That first enterprise, Mid-States Services, Inc., grew from its inception as a business that focused solely on the vending business, to a large corporation that ultimately provided vending and catering services to businesses, in addition to food and commissary services to a variety of local governments all over the Southwest United States.
He was aided in that strong growth by his son-in-law, Larry Hanson. Similarly, Larry was always comforted by the strong fatherly role that Jack played in his life.
Another very important support mechanism for Jack was his wife, Sue Madera. Jack and Sue shared a deep, kindred love for one another, and even until the end, Sue proved to be very much a sustaining force in Jack's life.
In 1999, Mid-States Services, Inc. was sold to a group of private equity investors.
Jack became a consultant to the new company, but always yearned to recreate the successful formula that he had spent the previous 30 years perfecting.
He recreated that recipe for success in his latest venture, Mid-America Services, Inc., that was recently beginning to bear the fruits of his labors. It was around this time that Jack began the largest battle of his life, one that would eventually take him away to be at God's right hand.
In 2001, doctors discovered a very aggressive form of throat cancer. Though the prognosis was not good, Jack continued on with the painful and sometimes debilitating course of radiation and chemotherapy.
There were many that thought Jack would not survive these treatments. However, consistent with the overarching theme underlying his entire life, Jack persevered again, and was pronounced cancer-free following the aggressive treatments.
This lasted until recently when cancer was again found in Jack's body. Fully understanding that the end was near,
Jack gathered four generations of the Madera and Hanson families on Thanksgiving Night to express his love and support for his family, to say that he lived a deep and meaningful life with no regrets, to say that he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, and that he was prepared for the next Journey in his life.
On the night of Nov. 29, 2004, at the ranch he so loved with his adoring wife Sue by his side, Jack Madera was taken by his Father to be seated at the hand of the Lord.
Successful as a businessman, Jack also had a very deep understanding that with such success ultimately came other responsibilities.
When asked about his philanthropic philosophy, Jack was always known to reply simply: "My son, you just do."
He knew that there were obligations that he must repay not as a result of his success as a businessman, but more because his success afforded him the opportunity to focus on the larger issues at hand - taking care of family and friends, providing trusted counsel to friends and family alike, and helping his fellow man.
Survivors include a large and loving family, which includes his wife of 23 years, Sue Madera, Mabank; his sister, Billie Smith; daughter, Deborah Lynn Hanson, and her husband, Larry Hanson, and their two children, Benjamin M. and Brian A. Hanson, along with each of their respective wives, Kristen H. and Cynthia E. Hanson, and his two great grandchildren by Ben and Kristen, Jackson and Harrison Hanson.
Other relatives include: Jackie and Robert Alvarez, and their first child, Jayden, Terry Sealey, nephew of Jack's wife, Sue. Other important extensions of the family include: Mario and Maria Tovar, and their four children, Arnulfo, Alberto, Alexis and Antony, Jesus and Amparo Tovar, and their two children, Amy and Natalie; and Leo Tovar.
Funeral services were held Dec . 2, 2004 at Sparkman/Hillcrest Northwest Hwy. Chapel, Dallas, Texas. Interment Hillcrest Memorial Park.
Pallbearers were J.D. Johnson, Weldon Lucas, Billy Wayne Stewart, Pat Griswald, Mike Shumate, Dee Anderson and Jim Bowles.
Memorials in lieu of flowers, donations may be given to the YMCA Partners Campaign.
A believer in the good that can be done at the local level by giving children a place to go after school, Jack Madera believed in the YMCA Partners Campaign. For more information on how you can help with the Partners Campaign, please contact (214) 880-9622.
Levi Hamby
Services for Levi Hamby, 17, Kemp, were held Dec. 6, 2004, in the Anderson Clayton Bros. Funeral Home Chapel in Kemp. Interment followed in King Cemetery in Henderson County under the direction of Anderson Clayton Bros. Funeral Home in Kemp.
Hamby was a junior at Kemp High School and an A-B Honor Roll student. He played tuba in the Kemp band and loved computers. He had a big heart and loved life. He was a member of the Maranatha Fellowship Church in Terrell. He was loved and will be missed by all who knew him. He was preceded in death by an aunt, Tonya Kimberlin.
Survivors include his parents, Shannon and James Weems, Kemp; sister, Chellsea Weems, Kemp; maternal grandparents, Terry Lynn Hamby, Payne Springs; and Billy Lee Hamby, Logan, Ohio; paternal grandparents, Jimmy and Anita Weems, Terrell; and Charlotte and Wayne Hamilton, Seranton, Ark.; uncles, Billy Lee Hamby, Sabina, Ohio; Norman Kimberlin, Wilmington, Ohio; and Gem Weems, Terrell; numerous other relatives and friends.
Pallbearers were John Farmer, Ollie LaCour, Brent Howder, Clayton Goff, Coach Phil Hale and Joe McNair.
