OBITUARIES

Virgil Hugh Phemister

Published

4 years ago

04/15/2022

March 23, 1932 – April 10, 2022
NOCONA – Virgil Hugh Phemister, 90, passed from this life on April 10, 2022.
A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. on April 14, at the Nocona Church of Christ with Austin Wright officiating, under the direction of Scott-Morris Funeral Home. The family will receive visitors at 1 p.m. at the church. After the funeral, a burial will follow at Montague Perpetual Care Cemetery.
Hugh was born March 23, 1932 in Haskell, TX to Virgil and Ida Phemister and was one of nine children. From 1953-1954, Hugh proudly served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was deployed to the demilitarized zone, where he served as a tanker. In civilian life Hugh worked in the oil and gas industry, mostly as a pipeline operator for Lone Star Gas Co. He worked for Lone Star for 31 years until his retirement, then he enjoyed retirement for 31 years.
Hugh met Norma Lou Clapp and fell in love. They married June 1, 1974. They shared a deep, devoted love and from that day on, they were nearly inseparable. If Hugh wasn’t at work, he and Norma were almost always doing something together. Norma preceded Hugh in death on February 23, 2012.
Hugh loved to travel. He was proud to be able to say he had been to all of the world fairs and that he had set foot in all 50 states. He and Norma drove all over the country on vacations, including multiple trips to Branson, MO. As a thanks for his military service, Hugh was blessed to enjoy an Honor Flight, which included traveling to Washington D.C. to visit the Korean War memorial and various other sites.
Hugh loved his family. His siblings all had children and over the generations they grew to have a very large extended family. There were plenty of family members to love and Hugh loved them all. One of the greatest joys in Hugh’s life were the great family reunions they shared.
In his later years, Hugh moved in to Cherry Street village in Nocona. His friends there became a second family. Hugh was a faithful Christian all his life. He was very active member of the Nocona Church of Christ for several decades. Always the servant, Hugh was glad to serve his church wherever he was needed. He loved to sing and he led singing at church for many years. Over his lifetime Hugh served in every capacity, “except preaching, being an elder or a deacon.”
Hugh always arrived at precisely 9 a.m. Even when he did not have a specific role he was serving, he was committed to welcoming everyone who came in the door and making sure to shake every person’s hand. His friends at Cherry Street noted how every Sunday morning Hugh moved with purpose as he headed to church.
Anyone who know Hugh knows that he was a faithful, devoted Christian man. His life truly reflected the love of Jesus day-in and day-out. While Hugh will be greatly missed, he has gone to be with the Lord he loved all his life and to be reunited with his beloved Norma. Hugh lived out Philippians 1:21: To live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Hugh was preceded in death by his beloved wife; parents; brothers, Carlos, Marvin and Roy and sisters, Alma, Helen, Edith, Retith and Jenell.
He is survived by numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, great great-nieces and great great-nephews.
For those who wish to make a donation in Hugh’s memory, please consider Cherokee Home for Children, which held a special place in Hugh’s heart, as well as the Nocona Church of Christ youth fund, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.
Paid publication

212 E. Oak St. Nocona, TX 76255
940-825-3338 • www.scottmorrisfh.com

OBITUARIES

Imogene Dalton Evans

Published

6 days ago

06/19/2026

bowienews

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

OBITUARIES

Mark Dean Hancock

Published

7 days ago

06/18/2026

bowienews

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.

OBITUARIES

Minnie Allen Walker

Published

7 days ago

06/18/2026

bowienews

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.