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.)

Maude C. Dilbeck

Funeral services for Maude C. Dilbeck, 89, of Plano, formerly of Lake Palestine, were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 29, in the Thompson Funeral Home Chapel in Frankston.

Burial was in the Frankston City Cemetery.

Mrs. Dilbeck died Friday, Feb. 27 in a Plano nursing home.

She was born Oct. 29, 1914 in Arkansas. Mrs. Dilbeck lived at Lake Palestine from 1979 to 1992.

She was a homemaker and a member of the Church of Christ.

She was preceded in death by a son, James Robert Cotton; husbands, Thomas Johnson Cotton and L.Z. Dilbeck; several sisters and one brother.

Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Jerry Robinson of Plano; a daughter-in-law, Linda Cotton of Houston; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Johnnie Ray Jones

Funeral services for Johnnie Ray Jones, 63, of Frankston were held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, at the Assembly of God in Frankston with Rev. J.A. Griffin officiating.

Burial was in the Liberty Hill Cemetery with services under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home of Frankston.

Mr. Jones died Sunday, Feb. 29 at his residence.

He was born Jan. 15, 1941 in Anderson County, Texas. He as a member of the Assembly of God.

Mr. Jones was preceded in death by his father, William W. “Buster” Jones; and brothers, Tommy Jones and Robert Dan Jones.

Survivors include his mother, Lorena Vay Jones of Frankston; brothers and sisters-in-law, Jerry and Joni Jones, Steve and Gail Jones, Mike Jones, Melvin and Barbara Bizzell, all of Frankston; sisters and brothers-in-law, Linda and Rex Terrell, Hazel and R.J. Grubbs, Pat and Ronnie Henderson, all of Frankston; numerous nieces and nephews.

Nephews served as pallbearers.

James C. Fowler

Graveside services for James C. Fowler, 83, of Frankston were held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 17, at Whitehouse Cemetery with the Rev. J.A. Griffin officiating.

Burial was in Whitehouse Cemetery under direction of Burks-Walker-Tippit Funeral Home, Tyler.

Mr. Fowler died Sunday, March 14, in a local nursing home.

He was born April 9, 1929 in Salem. Mr. Fowler retired as a machinist, building utility trailers in California before moving to Tyler 22 years ago. He was a member of the Assembly of God.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Grayton and Emma Laura Seagroves Fowler.

Survivors include his brother and sister-in-law, Travis and Sudie Fowler of Frankston; a sister, Dorothy L. Williams of Whitehouse; three sisters-in-law, Gertie Fowler of Brownsboro, Mary Fowler of Tyler and Marie Fowler of North Carolina; and several nieces and nephews.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, 75701, or American Cancer Society.

Ruth Faye Kitchens

Funeral services for Ruth Faye Kitchens, 64, of Frankston were held on Friday, March 12, at 10 a.m. in the chapel of Thompson Funeral Home in Frankston.

Graveside services were held at Mills Cemetery in Garland at 2 p.m.

Mrs. Kitchens died Wednesday, March 10, in a Jacksonville hospital.

She was born July 7, 1939 in Dallas. Mrs. Kitchens owned a dry cleaning company.

Survivors included sons, Tommy Crump of Frankston, Charles Crump of Garland, and Don Crump of Dallas; brothers, Charles Mills of Wills Point and James Mills of Rowlett; sisters, Lois Raney of Dallas and Jane McKinnon of Flint; one grandchild and several nieces and nephews.

Inez Hogue Westbrook May

Graveside services for Inez Hogue Westbrook May, 84, of Houston were held at the Frankston City Cemetery on Wednesday, March 17, at 1 p.m. with Dick Case, longtime friend from Houston, officiating. Services were under the direction of Sparkman/Crane Funeral Home of Dallas.

Mrs. May died on Monday, March 15 after a lengthy illness.

She was a member of the Church of Christ and a retired beauty shop operator.

Among those preceding her in death were her daughter, Linda, in 1998, and sister, Marie Bizzell of Frankston.

Survivors include two granddaughters, a grandson and two great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two nephews, Dana Bizzell and Billy Bizzell of Frankston; and a son-in-law Robert Wilhite of Houston, TX.

The family requests remembrances in the name of Inez May to the Frankston Depot Library, P.O. Box 639, Frankston, TX 75763.

Ima Jo Roberts

Funeral services for Ima Jo Roberts, 83, were held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 13, at Thompson Funeral Home chapel in Frankston with John Thompson officiating.

Burial was in Poynor Cemetery.

Miss Roberts died Wednesday, March 10, in a Frankston nursing home.

She was born Aug. 8, 1920 in Poynor and was a homemaker. Miss Roberts was a member of the Frankston Church of Christ.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Lida Roberts; brothers, Vernon Roberts and Perry Roberts; and sisters, Geneva McCaffiety and Jean Lehmberg.

She is survived by her brother, Homer Roberts of Frankston; sisters, Margie Loden of Jacksonville and Ruth Hutto and husband, Thurman of Henderson; a brother-in-law, Roy Lehmberg of Mason; and nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were James Rowell, Ben Bradshaw, John William Ayres, Herbert Riley, Jimmy Vinson, A.B. Roberts, Jerald Howeth and Tommy McCaffiety.

Honorary pallbearers were Wilburn Roberts, Clifford Emerson, Darrell Roberts, James Wilson, Edward Reagan, Bill Cook, Bill Hyde and Jim Paul.

Harry W. Whitehurst

Funeral services for Harry W. Whitehurst, 82, of Brushy Creek were held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 17, at the United Methodist Church of Frankston with Rev. Kevin King and Rev. Mark Pedersen officiating.

Burial followed in Olive Branch Cemetery at Brushy Creek with arrangements under the direction of Bailey & Foster, Palestine.

Mr. Whitehurst died Sunday, March 14 in a Jacksonville hospital.

He was born Dec. 14, 1921 in Ranger to Harry Boyd and Kate Dean Whitehurst.

Mr. Whitehurst graduated from Palestine High School and from Texas A&M with a degree in animal husbandry. During World War II, he served in the Marine Corps as a First Lieutenant. He was a commander of a Tank Corps in China. He later joined the Texas National Guard and attained the rank of Captain.

On Aug. 27, 1950, he married Evelyn Newell. In 1953, they moved to Brushy Creek and were in the dairy business for more than 22 years. After retiring, Mr. Whitehurst continued to be active in cattle production. Mr. Whitehurst was a member of the United Methodist Church of Frankston.

Mr. Whitehurst served as president of the board of directors of the New Era Electric Cooperative from 1974 to 1997. He also served on the board of directors for ASCS and Anderson County Farm Bureau.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Evelyn; his sons and daughters-in-law Bob and Diane Whitehurst of Frankston, Bill and Kathie Whitehurst of Tyler; his daughter, Becky Whitehurst McDonald of Benbrook; and his eight grandsons.

Pallbearers were his eight grandsons,Travis Whitehurst, James McDonald, Preston Whitehurst, Matthew McDonald, Jacob Whitehurst, Benjamin Whitehurst, Zachary McDonald, and Caleb Whitehurst.

The family suggests that donations be made in the name of Mr. Whitehurst to the United Methodist Church of Frankston.

Charlie W. Bettge

Funeral services for Charlie W. Bettge, 86, of Frankston were held at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 21, at the HillTop Baptist

Church, Berryville, with the Rev. Ron Ivey officiating.

Burial was held at the Wofford Cemetery under direction of Thompson Funeral Home, Frankston.

Mr. Bettge died Friday, March 19, in a Tyler hospital.

He was born Feb. 2, 1918, in Kingsville to William and Lydia Bettge. Mr. Bettge was a general care foreman for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad and a member of Hilltop Baptist Church in Berryville.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Eileen Bettge; his parents, William and Lydia Bettge; and brothers, Frank Bettge, Elmer Bettge and Delmer Bettge.

Survivors include his daughters, Charlene Way of Frankston, and Deborah May Campbell of Flint; sisters, Emma Louise Smith of Frankston and Ann Twist of Kingsville; four grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, seven great-great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers were Brooks Beeler, John Cleveland, Bill Gulihur, C.J. O’Neal, Bob Weir and Troy Durrett.

Honorary pallbearers were grandsons and church family.

Oliver Collie

LAKE PALESTINE — Funeral services for Oliver Collie, 73, of Lake Palestine, were held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21, at Tyler Memorial Park with John Herbert Cole officiating, under direction of Memorial Funeral Home of Tyler.

Burial was in Tyler Memorial Park.

Mr. Collie died Friday, March 19, in Tyler.

He was born Aug. 19, 1931, in Frankston. Formerly of Tyler and Jacksonville, he had lived in Bullard on Lake Palestine for 30 years. He served in the Army during the Korean War, was a mechanic, a Methodist and a member of St. John’s Masonic Lodge 53.

Mr. Collie was preceded in death by a son, Oliver “Freddy” Collie Jr., and a brother, John Hosea Collie Jr.

Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Kathy and Dave Diduch of Lake Palestine; sisters, Beth Beasley and Margaret Hightower, both of Jacksonville; five grandchildren; and special friend, Mary Beard of Frankston.

Pallbearers were Jason Collie, Jimmy Hightower, Eugene Brooks, Chris Burns, Manual Cruz and Pete Carey.

Honorary pallbearers were Al Antes, Shane Phillips, Jay Dennis, Wayne Wilson, Larry Perry and all his friends.

Memorials may be made to Hospice Home Place, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, 75701.

Demarcus Hatton

Funeral services for Demarcus “Heavy D” Hatton, 26, of Frankston were held at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 21, at Frankston High School Auditorium with Elder Johnny Ray Baker officiating.

Burial was in Pleasant Hill Cemetery under direction of John R. Harmon Undertaking Co., Tyler.

Mr. Hatton died Wednesday, March 17, in a Tyler hospital.

He was born Jan. 9, 1978, in Palestine, and was a lifelong resident of Anderson County. He attended Frankston High School and was a member of Mount Olive Baptist Church.

Mr. Hatton was preceded in death by his grandfather.

Survivors include his son, Elijah Hawthorne, Tyler; father, Anthony Renfro, Frankston; and mother, Alice Renfro, Frankston.

Pallbearers were William Jefferson, Richard Van Zandt, Calvin Hatton, Rodney Hatton, Ricky Williams, Brandon Hatton, Kendall Renfro and Desmond Hinton.

Honorary pallbearers are Keith Hatton, Rodney McKenzie, Tracy McKenzie, Jason Hatton, Jeremy Hatton, Brian Conley, Bruce Pinson, Jerome Scott and Darryl Johnson.

Anna Vance

PALESTINE — Funeral services for Anna Vance, 79, of Palestine were held at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 20, at Calvary Baptist Church with the Rev. Lyle Huntress officiating.

Burial was in Guiceland Cemetery under direction of Bailey & Foster Funeral Home, Palestine.

Mrs. Vance died Thursday, March 18, in a Palestine hospital.

She was born July 6, 1924 in Frankston to the late James Quincey and Ida Mae Elrod Cook. Mrs. Vance was a homemaker and member of Calvary Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by 10 brothers and sisters.

Survivors include her husband, Roger Vance of Palestine; a son, Sid Vance of Palestine; and two grandchildren.

Pallbearers were Zachary Lyons, Adam Vance, Bryan Vance, Emerson Vance, Benny Vance and Danny Vance.

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