OBITUARIES
Mark Cullen Smith
October 27, 1949 – June 16 2026
NOCONA – Mark Cullen Smith died on June 16, 2026 in Nocona, TX.
A celebration of life service will take place at a later date.
He was born on Oct. 27, 1949 in Chicago, IL where his father was attending pilot training for the airline company that would eventually become Delta Airlines. As soon as possible, the family came back to Hurst, where he grew up.
He graduated high school at L.D. Bell in Euless. After graduation, he attended Tarrant County Community College and graduated with an associate degree in aeronautical technology. He received his AP license prior to graduation, and worked for Denton Piper Sales and Service, Dallas Airmotive, and then Midcoast Aviation in Saint Louis, working on both jet and prop-driven aircraft.
In 1973 he was hired by Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita, KS as a field service engineer, providing engineering coordination and support involving maintenance and service issues for more than 200 Cessna Citation corporate jets throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Louisiana and Mexico. He retired from Cessna in 2009, and he and his wife then moved full-time to their very small cattle ranch in Montague County.
He is preceded in death by his mother, LaVoe Taylor Smith; father, Jack Phillip Smith and daughter, Nicole Smith Derrick.
He is survived by his wife, Gale Cochran-Smith, Montague; son, Phillip Smith, Fort Worth and two grandchildren.
Memorials can be made to the Nocona General Hospital Foundation or the Nocona Carpenter Shop/Meals on Wheels program.
February 9, 1968 – July 4, 2026
BOWIE – Steven Douglas Drury, 58 died on July 4, 2026.
A private celebration of life for the family was on July 10.
He was an entrepreneur and created his business Drill Rig Depot.
He is survived by his wife, Christina Drury; four children, Sydney, Ben, Bailey and Josie; six grandchildren; parents, Don and Lois Drury; and brothers, David, Danny and Christopher.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
December 22, 1959 – July 1, 2026
SUNSET – John Wayne Shelton, 66, died on July 1, 2026.
There was a celebration of life for him from 5 – 7 p.m. on July 10 at Nocona Brewery.
He was born on Dec. 22, 1959 to Wade and Thelma Shelton in Nocona. He worked in the oilfield most of his life. He married Stephanie Burleson on Dec. 13, 1984 in Nocona.
He is preceded in death by his parents.
He is survived by his children, Jared Shelton, Bowie and Stacia Lorenz, Tennessee; sister, Serina Thomas, Bowie; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Memorial donations made to the American Heart Association, www.heart.org.
Arrangements entrusted to the Jerry Woods Funeral Home of Nocona.
March 3, 1962 – July 6, 2026
WICHITA FALLS – Weldon Ray Duff, 64, died on July 6, 2026.
There was a visitation from 6 – 7 p.m. on July 10 at Jerry Woods Chapel in Nocona. A graveside service was at 10 a.m. on July 11 at Ringgold Cemetery with Richard Allen officiating. Pallbearers will be Mike Bonham, Jimmy Smith, Hatch Womack, Lynn Bugsy Allen, Blake Allen, Marlin Franklin, Joe Barnhill and Butch Matthews.
Duff was born on March 3, 1962 in Henrietta to Benjamin Franklin Duff Jr. and Myra Durham Duff. He worked as a machinist and was known as a “Jack-Of-All-Trades.”
Duff was a member of Bowie Masonic Lodge 578. He married Jowana Bussey on Aug. 8, 1980 in Ringgold.
He is preceded in death by his parents.
He is survived by his wife, Jowana Duff, Ringgold; daughter, Jessica Lierly, Collinsville; sister, Becky Case, Stoneburg; brother, Benjamin Franklin Duff III, Lonegrove, OK and three grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Wichita Falls, 440 Cypress Ave., Wichita Falls or Ringgold Cemetery Association, 1108 Hanson Rd., Ringgold.
Arrangements entrusted to the Jerry Woods Funeral Home in Nocona.
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