OBITUARIES
Helen Aliene Bledsoe
April 19, 1926 – January 30, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY – Helen Aliene Bledsoe, 95, passed away Jan. 30, 2022 in Oklahoma City, OK.
Services are at 2 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Resthaven Funeral Home, Oklahoma City, followed by a graveside service in Cushing, OK.
Helen was born in Yale, OK on April 19, 1926 to Frank and Jenny (Caulkins) James. She married George Bledsoe on Sept. 8, 1946 and they shared a life together for 30 years until his passing on Nov. 17, 1976.
Ms. Helen was a member of Christian Life Fellowship Church in Moore, OK for many years where she served as mentor, Sunday school teacher and puppeteer through the King’s Kids program. She loved working in her flower beds, reading and attending the many activities of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was known for her beautiful warm smile and helping hands. Helen was a down-home southern cook, and will always be remembered for her pineapple upside down cake and amazing chicken and noodles.
When Helen’s health declined in the later years, she traveled between Oklahoma City and Montague as her daughters stepped in as caregivers. While in Montague, Helen attended Montague United Methodist Church, First United Methodist Church and First Free Will Baptist Church in Bowie, where she was loved and supported by all three church families. Many will remember her as the little lady at the front who rocked and clapped while singing all the words to the old hymns without a hymnal.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband, George Bledsoe; parents, Frank and Jenny James, five sisters and two brothers.
She is survived by her daughters Sandy Owens and husband Chuck, and Saunda Ruff and Husband Rick; grandchildren Rich Owens and wife Amy, Scot Owens and wife Amanda, Chad Ruff and wife Andrea and David Ruff; great-grandchildren Olivia Lane and husband Evan, Noah Owens, Emerson Owens, Allie Ruff, CJ Ruff, Jayden Ruff and Jazmyn Ruff; special friends, Lanny Hunt and Ann Campbell, as well as many loving family members and friends.
Paid publication
OBITUARIES
Norma Jeanne Fulcher
February 2, 1927 – November 21, 2025
CALIFORNIA – Norma Jeanne Fulcher, 98, passed away in November 2025, in Sherman Oaks, CA. She had been a resident of Los Angeles for 67 years.
Her final resting place will be in Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie.
Norma was born on Feb. 2, 1927 in Post Oak, TX, where her family owned a cattle ranch. After graduating from high school at 16, Norma attended Texas State College for Women in Denton where she was an honor student in journalism.
Advertising would be her career path, and it all began at Joske’s department store in San Antonio. From there she moved to Dallas where she worked as an advertising copywriter for Neiman Marcus. Her next step was Jantzen swimwear in Portland, OR and eventually to Los Angeles to work at Carson/Roberts, the largest advertising agency on the west coast at the time. Among her accounts were Max Factor and Mattel, and she wrote one of the first ads for the Barbie doll. Later in her career, she freelanced and worked at Art Center in Pasadena.
Norma liked to cook and host dinner parties for friends. She enjoyed art exhibits and attending musical performances in LA. After retirement, she was a docent for 25 years at the Huntington Library, art museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.
Norma is survived by her four nieces.
Paid publication
OBITUARIES
Izella Gray Boyd
August 4, 1944 – January 1, 2026
BOWIE – Izella Gray Boyd, 105, passed away Jan. 1, 2026.
A graveside service was at 11 a.m. Jan 5 in Oakwood Cemetery, Jacksboro.
Izella was born March 9, 1920 to Janie (Hensley) and John Elbert Gray in Jack County, TX. The sixth daughter of 12 children, Izella was the last surviving child of the Gray union. She married Oscar L. (Dutch) Boyd on Aug. 4, 1944.
Dutch and Izella raised their family in Bridgeport, where she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Bridgeport. Relocating to Bowie in the mid-90s, she became a member of the First Baptist Church of Bowie.
Izella was fiercely competitive and independent, and kept the 42 games at the Bowie Senior Citizens Center going strong for many years. Later years were spent at Independence Hall, where bingo was a staple.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; son, Mike Boyd; son-in-law, Donald Morton and 11 siblings.
She is survived by daughter, Mary Jo Morton; two grandchildren Cindy (Ross) Hamilton and Rhonda (T.M.) Bigley; six great grandchildren and 13 great-great grandchildren.
The family of Izella would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to all the staff at Independence Hall and Solaris Hospice for the compassionate and excellent care provided to her.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
Paid publication
OBITUARIES
“Patsy” Ruth West Lyons
April 5, 1927 – December 28, 2025
BOWIE – “Patsy” Ruth West Lyons, 98, passed away Dec. 28, 2025 in Bowie.
The family received friends from 9 to 11 a.m., prior to the service on Jan. 2 at the White Family Funeral Home.
A funeral service was at 11 a.m. on Jan. 2 in the chapel of the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie. Burial followed at Hopewell Cemetery.
Patsy was born April 5, 1927, in Vernon to David Hamilton West and Lucille McGinty West. She married James Brock Lyons on Jan. 4, 1947 in Fort Worth. They celebrated 70 wonderful years together before his death in 2017.
She was a 1945 graduate and recently honored as the oldest living graduate of Bowie High School. Patsy was a 53-year member of Bowie Chapter #16 Order of The Eastern Star. She worked at G. C. Murphy Company in Fort Worth before retiring to Bowie where she worked for Fry Funeral Home for many years.
She is preceded in death by her parents, David and Lucille West; three brothers; one sister; husband, James Brock Lyons; son, James Brock Lyons Jr., and daughter -in-law, Beverly Lyons.
Patsy is survived by her daughter, Karen Self and husband Leroy, Bowie; 11 grandchildren, Lynette Fultz and husband Robert of Decatur, James Self and wife Brittany, Bowie, Stephanie Morgan and husband David, Mansfield, AR, April Robles and husband Mikey, Mansfield, AR, Brock Lyons III, Mansfield, AR, Kiemeche Corbin and husband Westin, Charleston, AR, Dakotha Lyons, Van Buren, AR, Lannie Self, Dallas, Terry Self and wife Vonda, Coppell, Cheri Brittain and husband Dusty, Mineola and Troy Self, Newark; 14 great-grandchildren; 10 great-great-grandchildren and one soon to arrive.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
Paid publication
-
NEWS2 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS3 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS3 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS3 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS2 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
Show us something good9 years agoCountry music star children perform in Bowie
-
NEWS3 years agoSheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
100th Birthday3 years agoLooking back at the 1958 Centennial edition of The Bowie News












