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.)

Lee Knowles

Funeral services for Lee Knowles, 71, of Frankston were held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 1, at the First Baptist Church in Frankston with Rev. Eddie Hilburn and Rev J.A. Griffin officiating.

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

Mr. Knowles died Tuesday, Feb. 25, at his residence.

He was born March 2, 1931 in Freestone County, Texas. He had lived in Frankston since Nov. 1969. Mr. Knowles was an overland truck driver and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1955.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Yvonne Knowles.

Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, James Lee and Jackie Knowles of Keller; a twin brother, Bob Knowles, and wife, Jewel of Oakwood; a sister, Kitty Owens of Longview; a grandson, Jacob Lee Knowles; several nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were Troy House, Mark Tatum, Wayne Socia, Doyle Smith, Jerry Beard and Billy House.

Honorary pallbearers were Rick Tryon, Randall Tryon, Dusty Tharp, Bill Johnson and Kenneth Smith.

Bobby Stephens

Funeral services for Bobby West Stephens, 58, were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 at Hilliard Funeral Home, Van, with the Rev. Louie Barron officiating.

Burial was in Holly Springs Cemetery under the direction of Hilliard Funeral Home.

Mr. Stephens died on Monday, March 10 in Tyler.

He was born Feb. 9, 1945 in Ben Wheeler. Formerly of Chandler and Tyler, he has been a resident of Frankston since November 1977. Mr. Stephens was a truck driver for 17 years and owned and operated Bobby’s Automotive and Machine Shop for 18 years. He was also a Methodist and graduated from Van High School in 1963.

He is preceded in death by his father, Sam Stephens; sister, Margaret Bradford; and brother-in-law, Truett Bradford.

Survivors include his wife, Martha Stephens of Frankston; four sons, Greg Stephens of Chicago, Hank Stephens of Palestine, Billy Meazell II of Nacogdoches, and Steven Meazell of Neches; daughter, Charlotte Armstrong of Neches; mother, Jimmie Stephens; brother, J. Allen Stephens of Frankston; 13 grandchildren; several nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

Pallbearers were Mike Jorden, Jim Norris, Butch Hefelfinger, Joel Johnson, Gene Williams and Henry Parker.

Honorary pallbearers were Jim McCully, Wayne Hedman, E. F. Klein, Al Brooks, and the drivers of Tyler Pipe.

If desired, memorials may be made to Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75701.

William Christian

Graveside services for William Russell Christian, 65, of Frankston were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, at Concord Cemetery with the Rev. Bob Johnson officiating under the direction of Beaty Funeral Home, Mineola.

Mr. Christian died Saturday, March 8, at his residence.

He was born April 27, 1937, in LaSara to the late Theodore and Dorothy Christian.

Mr. Christian lived in Frankston for 20 years and worked in the maintenance department of Kelly-Springfield Tire Co.

He was preceded in death by his parents and several brothers and sisters.

Survivors include his wife, Janet Christian of Frankston; a son and daughter-in-law, Russell and Gayna Christian of Mineola; a daughter, Debbie Beane of Hurst; six sisters; and three grandchildren.

Pallbearers were Herman Christian, George Robinson, Ryan Beane, Marshall Beane, Allen Christian and Brent Christian.

T.J. Coker

Funeral services for T.J. Coker, 81, of Frankston were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, at the First Baptist Church of Frankston with the Revs. Eddie Hilburn, Louie Barron and Grover Talbert officiating.

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

Mr. Coker died Sunday, March 16, in Frankston.

He was born March 27, 1921 in Burkburnett. Mr. Coker was a retired supervisor at Frankston Paper Box Co. and was a Baptist. He served in the U.S. Air Force and was a member of the VFW Post 5073 in Frankston.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Coker of Frankston; a son and daughter-in-law, David and Debbie Coker of Frankston; a daughter, Betsy Anderson of Frankston; a sister and brother-in-law, Johnnie Lou and Marshall Ellis of Frankston; three grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were Bill Hyde, Jamey Hyde, Bo Ousley, Jim Smith, Johnny Burks and Bill McHam.

Honorary pallbearers were members of the Men’s Bible Class of First Baptist Church of Frankston.

Memorials may be made for First Baptist Church of Frankston or Frankston City Cemetery.

Tom Wagoner

Graveside services for Tom Wagoner, 63, of Frankston were held at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 13, at Frankston City Cemetery with the Revs. Mark Pedersen and Jimmy Davis officiating under direction of Foster & Brown Funeral Home, Athens.

Mr. Wagoner died Tuesday, March 11, in Tyler.

He was born Aug. 22, 1939 in Jacksonville to Frank and Pauline Lancaster Wagoner. Mr. Wagoner was a cross-country truck driver.

Survivors include sons, Tom Wagoner Jr., Berryville, Ark., and Michael Wagoner, Austin; daughter, Teresa Wagoner, Austin; mother, Pauline Wagoner Perry, Frankston; brother, Dan Wagoner, LaRue; sisters, Bettie Holcomb, LaRue, and Sandy Vaughan, Frankston; a special friend, Faye Martin, Dallas; five grandchildren; nieces and nephews.

Honorary pallbearers were nephews, Paul Wagoner, Dustin Holcomb, Casey Holcomb, Mark Chalk, Jeremy Holcomb, Dennis Newman, William Watham and Seth Wagoner.

Norman Cramer

Funeral services for Norman Cramer, 87, of Poynor were held at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at the First Baptist Church in Poynor with Rev. Jeff Godwin and Rev. Jimmy Davis officiating.

Burial was at the Poynor Cemetery under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home in Frankston.

Mr. Cramer died Monday, March 24, in a Tyler hospital

He was born Aug. 11, 1915 in Bernice, La.

Mr. Cramer was a retired 45-year employee of Hunt Oil Co. and worked as a meter man. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Poynor and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Survivors include his wife, Daisy Cramer of Poynor; a son and daughter-in-law, Billy and Carolyn Cramer of Athens; a daughter, Carolyn Cramer Peoples of Mobile, Ala., brothers, Jewel J. Cramer of Tomball and Curtis C. Cramer of Bernice, La.; eight grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to American Heart Assn.

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