Frankston Area Obituaries — 1999-Present

Here are the obituaries posted for the current month from information provided courtesy of local and area funeral homes and published on their websites or those submitted by families. If an obituary is overlooked and it is desired that it be posted, please inform us at frankstondepotlibrary@gmail.com . Families may request changes or additions, if required. If you have an obituary for a person who has connections with someone or some family in the Frankston-Poynor-LaRue or Lake Palestine area that you want posted to this month or to the archives, and is not currently posted, please let us know at frankstondepotlibrary@gmail.com . Obituaries selected or submitted should follow a format which is essentially consistent with other obituaries posted here or by funeral homes and follow standard grammatical style. Through arrangements with funeral homes and/or the families, we will publish pictures with current obituaries. We will add pictures to archived obituaries from the print version of The Citizen newspaper prior to September 2019 when available. Pictures with archived obituaries posted after that will be added in cooperation with funeral homes or on requests from families.  As was the tradition of the Citizen newspaper, obituaries are published at no charge.

(Obituaries listed chronologically by date of death or funeral service.)

James R. Jones Sr.

Funeral Mass for James R. Jones, Sr., 65, of Chandler is scheduled for Saturday, April 5, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Charles Catholic Church in Frankston.

Visitation will begin on Friday, April 4, with Rosary at 6 p.m. in the chapel at Autry Funeral Home in Frankston. Burial will follow in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Palestine.

Mr. Jones was born in Dallas on Dec. 25, 1942 to Frank and Marie Jones. He died in Tyler on April 1, 2008.

M r . Jones was a former President of the St. Charles financial committee, Treasurer of the Men’s Club, and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

He was preceded in death by his father, and sister Karen Jones.

Survivors include his wife, Angela Jones of Chandler; mother, Marie Donsworth of Irving; son, James R. Jones, Jr., of Arlington; daughters and sons-in-law Paula and Stan Baucum of Midlothian, Jennifer and Randy Prescott of Arlington; brothers and sistersi-in-law Joe F. and Virginia Jones of Houston, John A. and Yvonne Jones of Garland; sister and brother-in-law, Sandra and Tom Coghlan of San Antonio; and four grandchildren, Logan, Harrison, Joey and Mattie.

Pallbearers will be David Etheridge, Richard Connor, Martin Cameron, Charles Hoffman, Robert Rowe, Stan Baucum, James R. Jones, Jr., and Randy Prescott.

Bonnie Woolverton

Bonnie D. Woolverton was born on March 13, 1917 near Canton in Van Zandt Co., Texas, the second eldest son of Jessie Lee Woolverton and Mary Bell Terry Woolverton.

He passed away on Monday, April 07, in Frankston.

He was a farmer, oil field worker, and construction worker, retiring in 1979 from Adams Brothers’Construction Co. in Athens.

He enjoyed most the 11 years that he grew watermelons commercially in South Texas and won several awards for his efforts.

His favorite pastime was fishing and he spent many hours on Cedar Creek Lake and Lake Palestine fishing with family and friends. He was a Baptist.

Mr. Woolverton was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Elsie Goggans and Girtrue Williams; brothers, William, Emmett, A. D. and Van Woolverton.

He is survived by his wife, Jackie of Frankston; daughter, Barbara Bruner of Palestine; grandson, Gregory N. Lundeen and wife Hazel of El Paso and five great-grandchildren; sister, Marie and husband Earl Clark of Wills Point; brother, Coy and wife Faye Woolverton of LaRue, and many nieces and nephews. Honorary pallbearers will be his nephews.

Graveside services will be held for family and close friends at Frankston Cemetery at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, under the direction of Autry Funeral Home. Visitation will be Thursday, April 10 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Autry Funeral Home in Frankston.

Troyce Rutledge

Memorial services were held Friday, April 4, for the Rev. Troyce Earlie Rutledge of Dallas at the Urban Park Assembly of God Church in Dallas with Bro. Wayne Brashear officiating.

Mr. Rutledge passed away on April 1, 2008 at Baylor Hospital.

He was born Dec. 31, 1931 in Georgia to Henry and Ella Fair.

He is survived by his wife of 11 years, Yolanda of Dallas; a daughter, Joyce Ann Rutledge of Frankston; a son, Roy Earl Rutledge of South Carolina; a step daughter; two grandsons, Shawn Emerton of Plano and Roy Rutledge, Jr. of South Carolina; three granddaughters, Heather Smith of Chandler, Melissa Casper of Eustace and Cassie Holt of Tyler; three step granddaughters; two step grandsons and four great grandchildren, Cassidine and Mae Smith and Joesph and Tabytha Casper; and one step great granddaughter.

Grace Allstun

Grace Allstun, 87, of Frankston, passed away peacefully April 12, 2008. She was born March 26, 1931 in Flint, Michigan.

She is survived by daughter, Sharon Kay Reynolds of Frankston; son, Leslie L. Langdon and wife Marsha of Frankston; daughter-in-law, Eula Allstun of Lufkin; grandchildren, Elizabeth Johnson and husband Steve of Hurst, Dawn Webb and husband David of Pasadena, Michelle Freyer and husband Greg of Waco, Michael Cheatham of Greenville, Mo., Christie Gray of Lufkin, Victor Allstun and wife Kelley of New Lebanon, Ohio; cousins Norm and Polly Larsen of Kennard, and nine great grandchildren.

Grace was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur Allstun; son, Ricky Allstun; stepson, Larry Allstun; and stepdaughter, Carolyn Matthews.

A graveside service will be Monday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at Southpark Cemetery, in Pearland Texas, under the direction of Fairmont Funeral Home.

Words of comfort may be expressed to the family at www.FairmontFH.com.

Memorials may be sent to the Rainbow House at the Frankston United Methodist Church.

William Cobble

Funeral services for William Dee Cobble (Bill), 72, Rusk, were held at Wallace Thompson Funeral Home in Rusk on Tuesday, April 15.

Mr. Cobble passed away suddenly in Rusk on April 11.

He was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Rusk.

The Rev. Don Copeland officiated.

Mr. Cobble was a member of the Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in Rusk.

He worked for Glass Container in Palestine for 25 years before retiring. He moved from Palestine to Rusk where he bought the Babcock Bro. store and worked 14 years.

After that, he went into the yard keeping business.

He loved to work outside.

Mr. Cobble was born Oct. 28, 1935 in Waxahachie to William A. and Ruby Ethel Williams Cobble. He served in the National Guard Army Reserve from 1953-1959.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Linda Hill Cobble of Rusk; two sons, Mark Dwayne Cobble of Palestine and Stephen Justin Cobble of Rusk; two daughters, DeeAnn Cobble Torres of Ft. Worth and Brittany Cobble Birdwell of Rusk; one sister and brother-in-law, Doug and Darlene Cobble Pryor of Frankston; 8 grandchildren; three great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews and many friends.

Bill was preceded in death by a son, William Keith Cobble of Palestine; a sister, Mary Alice Cobble Thatcher of Palestine; two brothers, Robert (Bob) Cobble of Rusk and Milton Leon Cobble Sr. of Palestine and his parents, Bill and Ruby Cobble of Palestine.

Bill is in heaven now with his Lord and Savior and the family that he had missed so much. The family he has left behind will cherish all the memories until we are together again.

David Pryor

Graveside services for David Charles Pryor, 56, of Palestine were held at the Leagueville Cemetery in Leagueville, Texas on Wednesday, April 23 at 10 a.m.

He passed away on Sunday, April 20, in Palestine.

Funeral arrangements were under direction of Cooperís Funeral Home in Athens.

David worked for his dad for many years as a bricklayer and also with his adopted brother, Darren Pryorfor several years before becoming a truck driver. He lived in Brownsboro.

David is survived by his wife, Hazel Pryor of Palestine; his father and step-mother, Doug and Darlene Pryor of Frankston; his mother, Gladys Wells of Needville; a daughter, Shanna Gonzales of Needville; a sister, Donna Raska of Needville; and brothers, William Darren and Thomas Keith Pryor, both of Frankston.

Condolence calls may be made to the home of Doug and Darlene Pryor in Frankston at 903-876-4449.

Oren E. Gurney

Chapel services for Oren E. Gurney, 89, of Tyler were scheduled for Wednesday, April 23, at Tyler Memorial Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Aaron Bequette officiating.

Burial was to follow in Tyler Memorial Park.

Mr. Gurney was born July 19, 1918 in Cleveland, Oklahoma to Frank and Julia Martinez Gurney and passed away April 19, 2008 in Tyler.

He lived in Frankston for many years.

He retired from Southland Distribution Center, served in the Army ñ Air Force as a Tech 5 during WWII and was of the Catholic faith.

Mr. Gurney is preceded in death by his wife, Anita Joan Graves Gurney and is survived by his wife, Clodell Gurney of Tyler; daughters, Ann Miller of Tyler and Debbie Reeves of Chandler; sons, Bill Gurney of Tyler, Bob Gurney of Tyler and Danny Balensiefen of Chandler; 11 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Heart to Heart Hospice of Tyler, 401 East Front Street, Tyler, Texas 75702 or American Cancer Society, 3404 NNE Loop 323, Tyler, Texas 75708.

James Burks

Funeral services for James Edward Burks, 73, of Athens were held Saturday, April 19, at Church of the Living God P.G.T. on Hwy 175 East with the Eldress Mary Henderson officiating.

Burial was to follow in the Mt. Olive Cemetery in Frankston under direction of John R. Harmon Undertaking Company.

Mr. Burks died April 14, 2008 in Tyler.

He was born Dec. 29, 1934 in Frankston and attended Carver High School and Prairie View A&M University.

He had lived for more than 30 years in Athens and was a member of Mt. Olive Sand Flat Baptist Church of Frankston.

Mr. Burks was a bail bondsman.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy Green of Athens; three sons, James Renard Burks of Houston; Kirk Jones of Lancaster and Michael Hunter of Dallas; three daughters, Deshun Hayes of Cedar Hill, Sonya Ray of Tyler and Lisa Houston of Athens; step children, James Watson, Frederick Watson, Johnny Green, Derrion Green, Kanesha Green and DeAna Green; two brothers, Oscar ìCheetahî Burks and Joe Lewis Burks both of Frankston; a sister, Vernell Yepp of Hempstead;13 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

(Obituaries posted contain information posted by funeral homes and/or families. Families may request changes or additions, if appropriate or required.)