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.)

Thomas Fields

Funeral services for Thomas Fields, 74, of Frankston were held at noon Saturday, June 29, at Mount Zion United Methodist Church with Pastor Alice Cumby officiating.

Burial was in Mount Zion Cemetery under direction of John R. Harmon Undertaking Co., Tyler.

Mr. Fields died Tuesday, June 25, in a Tyler hospital.

Mr. Fields was born Feb. 1, 1928 in Logansport, LA and attended Mount Zion Public School. He had lived in Anderson County for 45 years, was a self employed logger and member of Mount Zion United Methodist Church.

Survivors include his wife, Jessie Fields, Frankston; sons, Oree Thomas, Forest Fields, Charlie Earl Fields, Louis Fields, Curtis Fields and Thomas Fields Jr.; a daughter, Linda Henderson, Dallas; a sister, Dorothy Stevenson, Tyler; 16 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

Pallbearers were Ronnie Robinson, Rodney Scott, Roy Lee Hall, Johnny Bell, Carl Robinson and James Robinson.

Honorary pallbearers were Oree Thomas, Thomas Fields Jr., Thomas Curtis Fields, Charlie Earl Fields, Forest Fields and Louis Fields.

Moizelle M. Beckham

Funeral services for Moizelle M. Beckham, 74, of Frankston, formerly of Houston, were held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 10, in the Thompson Funeral Home Chapel in Frankston with Bro. Tom Pesnell officiating.

Burial was held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the New Hope Cemetery in Jewett.

Mrs. Beckham died Saturday, July 6, in Anderson County.

She was born Sept. 1, 1927 in Jewett.

Mrs. Beckham was a homemaker and a member of County Line Baptist Church in Bullard. She had lived in Frankston for 20 years.

Mrs. Beckham was preceded in death by her husband, Carl Beckham.

Survivors include a son, Charles Beckham of Houston; daughters, Brenda Cathey and Sheila Beckham, both of Frankston, and Barbara Dick of Jacksonville; a brother, Odell Story of Arlington; sisters, Faye Wade of Frankston, Mary Mahaffey of Arlington and Agnes Lummus of Shepherd; 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were Brett Banks, Jeff Banks, Stephen Beckham, David Hugghins, Rory Rothrock, Jay Ralston, Mark Terrell and Chet Pitts.

Honorary pallbearer was Kevin Rothrock.

Damon Earl Birch

Funeral services for Damon Earl Birch, 33, of Frankston were held at 9 a.m. Monday, July 15, at Lloyd James Funeral Home Chapel in Tyler with the Rev. Jerry Payne officiating.

Burial was in the Frankston City Cemetery under direction of Lloyd James Funeral Home.

Mr. Birch died Wednesday, July 10, in a Tyler hospital.

He was born Aug. 2, 1968 in Dallas. Mr. Birch was a construction worker with Pierce Enterprises and lived in Frankston since 1984. He attended Crossroads Community Church.

Survivors include his mother, Cecilia Lout of Frankston; his father, Bobby Birch of Frankston; a son, Damon Earl Birch Jr. of Frankston; daughters, Holly Marie Birch and Tiffany Ann Birch, both of Frankston; brothers, Donald Birch and Daniel Birch, both of Frankston; a sister, Denise Birch of Frankston.

Pallbearers were Donald Birch, Daniel Birch, Paul Merrit, Trent Williamson, Sonny Snider and Troy Ingram.

Honorary pallbearers were Jacob Birch, Stephen Birch and Daniel Paul.

John Conaway

ATHENS — Funeral services for John Conaway, 83, Athens were held at 10 a.m. Monday, July 15, at Herrington Land of Memory Chapel with Rev. Snyder officiating.

Burial was in Elmtown Cemetery under direction of Herrington Land of Memory Funeral Home in Palestine.

Mr. Conaway died Friday, July 12, in Athens.

He was born May 24, 1919, in Palestine, to the late Richard L. and Cora Lee Easley Conaway.

He was raised in the Elmwood Community and had lived in Anderson County most of his life. He was a Christian.

Mr. Conaway was a graduate of Elmwood School and Palestine High School. He was a farmer and rancher. He served in the U.S. Army and was a member of the 145th Combat Engineers and was involved in the building of the Alaskan Highway. He served in the Battle of Bulge in the European Theater.

Mr. Conaway was preceded in death by a brother, Robert Lee Conaway; and sisters, Ollie Shirey, Edna Mallard, Ruby Grasty and Mable Willard.

Survivors include his wife, Odetta Conaway, Athens; sons, Danny R. Conaway, Murchison, John Alton Conaway, Tyler, Richard “Ricky” Conaway and Steven “Stevey” Conaway, both of Athens; daughters, Helen Marie Weaver, Trinidad, Naomi Bell, Buffalo and Pamela “Pam” Cauldwell, Palestine; brother, Jack Walter Conaway, Frankston; sisters, Evelyn Fairris, Ema Thornton, Faye Taylor and Opal Warren, all of Palestine; 12 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Pallbearers were grandsons, Todd Weaver, Torrey Weaver, Mark Conaway, Chad Conaway, Shane Bell and Mikey Cauldwell.

Ruth Horton

LARUE — Funeral services for Ruth Horton, 83, of LaRue, were held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 9, at Carroll-Lehr Funeral Home Chapel in Athens, with the Rev. Joe Warren officiating.

Burial was in Shelby Chapel Cemetery, Athens.

Mrs. Horton died Friday, July 5.

She was born in Oxford, N.C., to the late Philip and Ola Burrows Kearney.

Mrs. Horton was a retired Army nurse, serving during World War II.

She lived in Only, Tenn. for 35 years, moving to LaRue six years ago.

Mrs. Horton was preceded in death by a grandson, Michael J. Horton on July 17, 1994; brothers, Ben Kearney and Philip Kearney; and sister, Belle Kearney.

Survivors include her husband of 61 years, J.D. Horton, LaRue; a son, Michael E. Horton, Waverly, Tenn.; one granddaughter, four great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were Ronnie Bell, Jerry King, Olly Bass Jr., W.L. Bond, William Taylor and Leslie Smith.

Honorary pallbearers were Joey Bell, George King, Chester Everett and Michael Rachel.

If desired, memorials may be made to Shelby Chapel Cemetery Assn., care of Christine Everett, 1010 CR 3815, Athens 75751.

T.J. Lindsey

PALESTINE — Funeral services for T.J. Lindsey, 78, of Palestine, were held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 7, at Bailey & Foster Funeral Home Chapel in Palestine with Dr. Barry Roberts officiating.

Burial was in Roselawn Park.

Mr. Lindsey died Friday, July 5, at his residence in Palestine.

He was born April 12, 1924, in Frankston to the late Tom and Frances Collins Lindsey.

Mr. Lindsey retired as a crew foreman from Texas Power & Light Co., and was a member of Evangelistic Temple.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Cleo Ellis; and a brother, Alto Lindsey.

Survivors include his wife, Ruth Lindsey of Palestine; daughters, Pamela Seckler of Nacogdoches, and Geneva Ellis of Houston; sons, Ronald Lindsey of Arlington, Terry Lindsey of Palestine and Wendell Lindsey of Waco; and five grandchildren.

Pallbearers are Arlen Lindsey, Chris Lindsey, Scott Sheehan, Keith Seckler, Bobby Britt and Albert Hassell.

Honorary pallbearers were crew members of Texas Power & Light Co.

If desired, memorials may be made to Evangelistic Temple Building Fund, P.O. Box 1214, Palestine, 75802.

Edna Terrell

PALESTINE — Funeral services for Edna E. Terrell, 100, of Palestine, were held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 13, at Bailey & Foster Funeral Home Chapel in Palestine, with the Rev. Larry Krohn officiating.

Burial was in Olive Branch Cemetery.

Miss Terrell died Wednesday, July 10, in a Palestine nursing home.

She was born Sept. 28, 190l in the Elmwood Community to the late Robert Perry and Florence Tippen Terrell.

Miss Terrell received her bachelor’s degree in 1933 and her master’s degree in 1957 from Sam Houston State University.

She worked for the War Department in Military Intelligence during World War II. She retired in 1967 from Alamo Elementary School where she had taught first grade since 1929.

Her first teaching position was at Pert and she also taught in Elmwood. She was a member of the United Methodist Church of Brushy Creek, Harvey Women’s Club, Retired Teachers Assn., National Education Assn., Texas State Teachers Assn., Texas State Teachers Assn. and life member of the PTA.

She was preceded in death by sisters, Florence “Dollie” Lucas, Leta Wester and Lillah Mitchell; and brothers, Almon Terrell, Olan Terrell and Marvin Terrell.

Survivors include nieces, Maxine Hampton, Mary Cheshier, Tammy Cheshier and Debbie Lucas, all of Elmwood; and nephews, Jimmy Lucas and Ben Mitchell, both of Elmwood, and Randy Lucas, Palestine.

Pallbearers were Michael Cheshier, Steve Campbell, David Campbell, Randy Lucas, David Terrell and Jerry Terrell.

Rev. Charles Watson

Funeral services for Rev. Charles Watson, 75, of Smithville, formerly of Berryville were held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 13, in the Thompson Funeral Home Chapel in Frankston with Rev. Jerry Totty officiating.

Burial was at the Frankston City Cemetery.

Rev. Watson died Wednesday, July 10, at his residence.

He was born June 10, 1927 in Marshall. Rev. Watson was a member of the Pentecostal Church of God and served as a minister for 50 years.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1943 to 1946.

Rev. Watson was preceded in death by six brothers and two sisters.

Survivors include his wife, Norma Watson of Berryville; sons, Richard Watson of Galveston and Michael Watson of Bedford; daughters, Melba Dawkins of Berryville, Linda Totty of Brownwood and Becky Routon of Campbell, CA.; a sister, Melba Lee Ainsworth of Midland; 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Pallbearers were Randy Totty, Michael Dawkins, Josh Routon, Kris Watson, Allen Watson and Harold Roy Watson.

Memorials may be made to Circle of Life Hospice, 1495 W. Hwy. 71 Suite K, LaGrange, TX 78681.

Rayburn F. 'Jack' Hollingsworth

Funeral services for Rayburn F. “Jack” Hollingsworth, 80, of Frankston were held at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 21, at the Assembly of God in Frankston with Rev. J.A. Griffin officiating.

Music was furnished by Margie Smith, Peggy and Steve Smith and Beverly Beard.

Burial was in Frankston City Cemetery under direction of Thompson Funeral Home, Frankston.

He was born Dec. 1, 1921 to the late Claude Randolph Hollingsworth and Mary Doxie Hughes Hollingsworth.

Mr. Hollingsworth served in the U.S. Army in World War II with service overseas in the Pacific Theater, in New Guinea, Phillipines, Japan and others. He is retired from Texas Department of Transportation.

He was a member of Assembly of God in Frankston.

Mr. Hollingsworth was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Clyde (Buck) Hollingsworth; and a son, Ronnie Frank Hollingsworth.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years,Thelma Pauline Hollingsworth of Frankston; a son and daughter-in-law, Rayburn and Vivian Hollingsworth of Palestine; a grandson and wife, Jasen and Candi Hollingsworth of Palestine; two granddaughters, Rebecca Stevens and husband, Kelley Stevens, Arlington; and Misty Ray Hollingsworth of Palestine; a great-granddaughter, Courtney Hollingsworth of Palestine; a great grandson, Jasen Paul Hollingsworth Jr. of Palestine; two sisters and their husbands, Ruth and Buddy Nolen and Wanda Beth and Homer Henderson, all of Frankston; and several nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were Ray Hughes, Charles Adams, Don Graham, Elton Jones, Keith Tillman and B.J. Smith.

Honorary pallbearers were Leslie Wells, Troy McDonald, Tony Smith, Nelson Link and Jimmy Morris.

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