OBITUARIES

Robert Calvin Donald Jr.

Published

6 years ago

06/14/2019

Robert Calvin Donald Jr.
January 13, 1940 – June 11, 2019
SUNSET – Robert Calvin Donald Jr., 79, passed away on June 11, 2019.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 16 at The White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. on June 17 at the First Presbyterian Church in Bowie with Pastor Joe Gambill officiating.
Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie.
Robert was born on Jan. 13, 1940 in Sunset. He was the only child of his parents Robert Calvin Donald Sr. and Estelle Catlin Donald. He attended the Sunset school until the eighth grade at which point all students moved to Bowie High School, where he graduated in 1958.
He grew up taking care of cows and horses on the Donald ranch. He met his wife of 56 years at Bowie School, Mary Nell Kirby Donald, they were married on January 28th, 1961 in Bowie. He attended Texas A&M University from 1958 until 1962, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering. They had their first child, James Larry Donald on Oct. 11, 1962 in Houston.
His first job in Houston was working for Haliburton. That company was purchased by Texas Instruments a couple of years later and in 1967 he was transferred to TI in Dallas. His second son was born on April 21, 1968, Robert William Donald. He worked on equipment that would detect oil at the bottom of the ocean and traveled to several countries to test out the equipment, including Honduras, Singapore and Africa where he would be on large freighters for weeks at a time testing the equipment. His hobbies consisted of sailing and ham radios.
The family lived in Richardson until 1978, upon his father’s passing, he decided to manage the Donald Ranch and moved back to Sunset. During that time, he held jobs at Poco Graphite in Decatur as well as Moore Supply Co. in Denton, but his next big career change was getting his teaching certificate and teaching at the school in Forestburg, specializing in math and computer science for grades six through 12. He retired from teaching in the early 2000s and focused on his cattle raising activities until his passing.
He and his wife attended the First Presbyterian Church of Bowie since 1978 and his wife passed in February of 2017.
He is survived by his eldest son, Larry and wife Lori, in Decatur, son, Bill in Bangkok, Thailand; grandchildren, Karl and wife Sarah, Decatur, and Cassie and husband Shaun; and great grandchild, Evan, Sasche, Kelsea and husband Lance, Ashlyn and Autumn, Decatur and James, Decatur; and cousins James, Laura, Karen and William Catlin.
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OBITUARIES

Dean Allen Shaffer

Published

2 weeks ago

05/28/2025

bowienews

June 24, 1962 – May 18, 2025
BOWIE – Dean Allen Shaffer, 62, was escorted to the gates of heaven May 18, 2025 at 12:34 a.m. in the arms of his loving wife Christal Shaffer after complications of pneumonia
A celebration of life for Dean was held at 11 a.m. on May 31 at the First Baptist Church in Alvord followed by a meal for the family.
Dean was born June 24, 1962, in Lander, WY. While quiet and soft spoken, he had a mighty love for the Lord, his wife of 38 years and his family. Dean was an incredibly hard worker, but all who knew Dean also knew how generous he was. He enjoyed cooking outside, hosting get-togethers at their home, having a drink and listening to good music as well as spending time with his bees.
He is preceded in death by his mother-in-law, “Memom” Linda Stevens and loving sister-in-law, Terri Shaffer and sister-in-law, Linda Shaffer.
Dean is survived by his wife, Christal Shaffer; children, Justin Shaffer and wife Kayla, Miles Shaffer, and Ainsley Hernandez and husband Josue; his children in Christ, Chris Lovell, and Andrew Stevens and wife Sutton; grandchildren, Kayden Shaffer and fiancé Nathan Mac, Colton Shaffer and wife Payton, Jaid, Remi, Briggs, Watts, Hutch, Justice and Maverick; great-grandchild, Colter; his parents, James Oliver Shaffer and Alice Bethine; siblings, Randy Shaffer, Cheryl Shaffer and partner Mike Hoffman, Mike Shaffer and wife Kim, Cathey Tewes and husband Andy; numerous other nieces, nephews and family members.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
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OBITUARIES

Betty Sue Bynum

Published

2 weeks ago

05/28/2025

bowienews

April 3, 1929 – May 20, 2025
BOWIE – Betty Sue Bynum, 96, passed away on May 20, 2025 in Nocona, TX.
Betty was born on April 3, 1929 in Thornton to Thomas Everett and Eva May Stiff Hardaway. She attended elementary school in Van Alstyne and attended high school in Calvert. She graduated from Teachers College High School and continued on to North Texas State Teacher’s College graduating with a bachelor of arts, library science degree at age 20. In 1977, she continued her education obtaining a master of education degree at University of North Texas.
While attending college, Betty met her future husband, Floyd Arthur Bynum. Betty wanted to work and live on her own for a year before getting married, so they had a long distance courtship while she taught school for a year in Canyon, Texas. They decided they were meant for each other and married on Aug. 5, 1950 in McKinney.
After starting their family in 1951, Betty and Floyd moved to Bowie where Floyd was industrial arts teacher at Bowie High School. Betty was a stay-at-home mom for few years. In 1960, she restarted her teaching career, teaching sixth grade for many years, eventually moving to high school where she was librarian until her retirement in 1988. She was a lifetime member of TSTA and a member of TLA.
Betty is preceded in death by her parents; sister, Alma Lou Perkins and husband, Floyd A. Bynum.
Betty is survived by her three daughters, Nancy Headley, (Douglas), Jean Richards (John) and Patricia Johnson (Craig), grandchildren, Heather Morse, Alicia Hutchison, Jennifer Holloman, Justin Richards, Steven Johnson and Brian Johnson; seven great grandchildren and two nieces, Suzanne Scott and Dianne Herr.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie, TX.
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OBITUARIES

Pedro Leon Olvera

Published

3 weeks ago

05/22/2025

bowienews

May 19, 1976 – May 11, 2025
NOCONA – Pedro Leon Olvera, 48, died on May 11, 2025.
There was a rosary at 6 p.m. on May 18 at Jerry Woods Funeral Home Chapel in Nocona. A funeral service was at noon on May 19 at St. Jospeh’s Catholic Church in Nocona.
He was born on May 19, 1976 in Celya, Mexico Guanajuato to Juan Olvera and Felixa Leon. Olvera was a part of a big family and hard-worker all of his life. He worked mostly in agriculture as a rancher. He loved working on cars in his spare time, especially with his son. He married Blanca Torres in 1995 in Celya, Mexico Guanajuato.
He is preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Rosa and Juana Gomez; and nephew, Juan Gomez Jr.
He is survived by his wife, Blanca Olvera; Nocona; son, Pedro Jr. Olvera, Nocona; daughter, Mariana Hampton, Gainesville; sisters, Yolanda, Nocona and Margarita, Mexico; brothers, Juan, Luis, Santiago and Francisco, all of Mexico; a grandson; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice.