OBITUARIES
Lorren Glaine Bush Smith
October 6, 1942 – March 1, 2022
BOWIE – Lorren Smith, most recently of Bowie, TX, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on March 1, 2022 in Decatur, TX.
The family will announce details for a celebration of Lorren’s life which will be at a later date.
A resident of Bowie, Ft. Pierre, SD and Lake Park, IA, Lorren was the daughter of Glen Bush and Lorraine Bush and was born in Lake Park, IA. Lorren was raised on the family farm near Lake Park along with her sister Jan and brother Shane. She often recounted memories of milking the family cows, working in the corn fields and participating in raising the family’s herd of Hereford cattle. She attended all school grades and graduated from Lake Park High School. Lorren’s classmates knew her by her nickname “Rennie.”
After high school, Lorren had many great experiences and made life-long friends as a young single woman. She attended dental assistant school at the University of Minnesota and also worked as a dental assistant in Sioux Falls, SD. Lorren was an independent, self-supporting single woman of the late 1960s. She was a trail blazer for mid-century working women serving as a role model for her daughters, nieces and granddaughters. She subsequently worked for the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce and attended an event where she met her future husband, Don Lee Smith of Ft. Pierre, Sd.
Lorren and Don married on Aug. 8, 1970 in Lake Park, IA and settled in Pierre, near the Smith Family Ranch. In Pierre, they raised Don’s three children, Roxanne, Judy and Lee. Although not her children by birth, Lorren lovingly provided care and support for the children throughout their lives.
Lorren worked at the South Dakota State Capitol for several departments and the State Legislature for a number of years. One of her closest friends, Governor Walter Dale Miller, would walk with Lorren on some afternoons to the nearby Smith Family home so he could have a nap there. Lorren was a trusted confidante during his administration. As the wife of a cattle rancher who worked long hours, Lorren also provided vital support to Don on the home front.
Lorren and Don were deeply committed to their faith and were both founding members of the Community Bible Church of Pierre.
Lorren loved eventually living at the ranch south of Ft. Pierre and enjoyed bird watching, entertaining her grandchildren, and traveling the world with Don and close friends. She also enjoyed accompanying Don in his travels to cutting horse competitions throughout the United States. They made many life-long friends and memories along the way.
Transitioning to retirement, Lorren and Don moved to rural Bowie, where Don continued to pursue his cutting horse interests and Lorren enjoyed the peace of rural life along with occasional travel. She and Don celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August of 2020 along with their children and grandchildren.
Lorren was preceded in death by her father Glen Bush, mother Lorraine Bush and nephew Ryan Bush.
She is survived by her husband, Don Lee Smith; daughters Roxanne Harrison (Christopher), Judy Fisher (Robert) and Don Lee Smith, Jr. Additionally she is survived by her sister Jan (Jim) Wiese and Shane (Bette) Bush. Lorren was blessed with six grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews she dearly cherished.
Paid publication
November 28,1928 – June 9, 2026
DENTON – Imogene Dalton Evans, 97, passed away on June 9, 2026.
A visitation will begin at 1 p.m. on June 20 at DeBerry Funeral Home and at 2 p.m. the funeral service will follow. A grave side service will immediately follow at Roselawn Memorial Park 3801 Roselawn Dr., Denton.
Imogene Dalton Evans was born on Nov. 28, 1928 in Coleman County Texas to Samuel and Effie Clara Dalton. She was raised on the family farm and ranch near Gouldbusk attending local schools and graduating high school from Mozelle High School.
Growing up she worked in the fields and with the cattle and sheep alongside her brothers. She gained a great work ethic that stayed with her throughout her life. She felt blessed to have three careers. She worked with her husband Joe Evans in their plumbing, heating and air conditioning business. After it was sold because of Joe’s health, she returned to college to finish her education, receiving a BS degree from North Texas State University (now UNT) and a master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University. She began work as a county extension agent in Montague County, retiring in 1991. She moved back to Denton and began a career in real estate in 1993.
Family was extremely important to her. After working all day she would work at night canning and freezing food from the family’s garden. One of her sayings she will be remembered for is a quote “waste not, want not.”
She was proceeded in death by her husband, Joe B. Evans in 1991; daughter, Regina Pitt in 2011; son, Joe B. Evans Jr. in 2015; daughter, Sharon Griffith in 2023; parents and three brothers.
She is survived by her grandsons, Scott Griffith, Fort Worth, Chad (Milly) Griffith, Dallas and “Trey” (Julie) Joe B. Evans III, Bowie; granddaughters, Lindsay (Kyle) Coker, Dallas, Shannon (James) Mares, Krum, and Lydia Evans, Bowie; great-grandchildren, Case Janopoulos, Krum, Emarie Evans, Bowie, Harper and Ellis Griffith, Dallas, Jack Griffith, Fort Worth, Berkleigh and Reagan Mares, Krum, and Collins and Myer Coker, Dallas; sister, Anna Walker, Saginaw; and nieces and nephews.
Arrangements entrust to DeBerry Funeral Home, Denton.
Paid publication
June 21, 1958 – June 10, 2026
NOCONA – Mark Dean Hancock, 67, died on June 10, 2026.
A memorial service will be from 2-4 p.m. on June 28 at the Turquoise Owl in Nocona.
He and his twin, Mike, were born on June 21, 1958, in Gainesville to Harvey F. Hancock and Jean (Hancock) Shears. He graduated from Nocona High School in 1976. He also attended North Texas University. He had several careers in his lifetime—the Boys’ State School in Gainesville, Tucker Rocky Distributing and numerous oilfield companies.
He is preceded in death by his parents; a half-sister and grandparents.
He is survived by two sons, Ben Hancock and Sam Hancock; brothers, Harvey Hancock and Mike Hancock; sisters, Kathy Tomlinson and Patty Crabtree; two grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews; and great-nieces and nephews.
Arrangements entrusted to Jerry Woods Funeral Home, Nocona.
January 20, 1938 – June 12, 2026
BOWIE – Minnie Allen Walker, 88 years, 4 months, and 23 days old died June 12, 2026.
There was a visitation from 5-6 p.m. on June 14 at Jerry Woods Funeral Home Chapel.
A funeral service took place at 2 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church on June 15. Interment followed in Ringgold Cemetery.
She was born Jan. 20, 1938, to Clarence and Eunice Allen in Ardmore, OK on what had once been reservation land. She was the only one of nine children to be born in a hospital. She graduated from Prairie Valley High School, where she played basketball and volleyball.
In 1959, she married her soulmate, Jerry Walker, and they built their extended family over the next 56 years. She worked for Dude’s Duds briefly, and at the Ford dealership in Nocona for many years. She served as Nocona City secretary and then as Nocona City manager, retiring in 2005 after a total of 23 years. The Walkers lost Jerry in 2018, and she moved to Independence Hall in Bowie a few years ago.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Jerry Walker; parents; and siblings, Alice Harper, Sam, Doie and David Allen.
She is survived by her three daughters, Karen Walker, Linda Wickersham and Kathy Sayers; three step-daughters; six grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; sisters, Joan Tettleton and Barbara Ice; and many nieces and nephews.
She had a lifelong love of flowers, so flowers to remember her are welcome or donate to the Carpenter Shop, 400 Boston St., Nocona, TX 76255.
Arrangements entrusted to Jerry Woods Funeral Home, Nocona.
-
NEWS3 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS4 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
-
NEWS3 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 ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
100th Birthday4 years agoLooking back at the 1958 Centennial edition of The Bowie News