August 1, 1940 – January 20, 2021
BOWIE – Darlene Joyce Hamilton Mccord passed from this life on Jan. 20, 2021 at her home in Bowie, TX.
A funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. on Jan. 23 at the Old Country Church in Bowie with pastors Tommy John Mayo and Jay Webb officiating. The burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie. The family received friends from 4 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 22 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie.
Darlene was born in Newport on Aug. 1, 1940 to George A. and Ethel Hamilton. She graduated from Bellevue High School in May of 1958, where she lettered in basketball all four years. Darlene married her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, Jon McCord, on March 31, 1956. After graduation, she caught a bus to Sumter, SC to join Jon, who was stationed there at Shaw Air Force Base. The couple returned to Texas in 1959, making their home in Dallas, where she worked at Reuters America for 20 years as a customer service liaison. Jon and Darlene returned to Bowie in 2002 to live on “the creek,” which was their family-owned land since the 1940s.
Playing the piano “by ear’ was a gift Darlene had enjoyed since she was 10 years old. The desire to play and share her love of music led Darlene to organized “Friday Night Music” at the Bowie Senior Citizens Center that was enjoyed by many friends and neighbors. Darlene had a passion for learning, and at the age of 72, she set out to accomplish her goal of learning to play the fiddle. Loving every minute of the challenge and naturally developing great skill, she competed in her first fiddle contest at the Chicken and Bread Days in Oct. of 2020.
Over the last few years, Darlene had also developed a love of photography. One of her proudest moments was winning the Blue Ribbon at the Chicken and Bread Days Art Contest in both 2019 and 2020.
She was a member of the Newport Baptist Church, where she served the Lord by playing for the congregation.
Darlene was named “Citizen of the Year” by the Bowie Chamber of Commerce in 2014, a well-deserved honor for her continual community service, which included playing music at the local assisted living facilities and nursing homes.
She was preceded in death by her parents and son, Michael McCord.
Darlene is survived by her husband, Jon; brother, Dewayne Hamilton and wife, Diana of Bowie; three aunts and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Bellevue X-Students Association, 601 West Wichita Street, Henrietta, Texas 76365 c/o Kathy Gregory or to the charity of your choice.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
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