OBITUARIES
Melva “Jean” Bridgwater
February 11, 1936 – October 23, 2022
BOWIE – Melva “Jean” Bridgwater, 86, went home to be with the Lord on Oct. 23, 2022 in Wichita Falls.
The family will receive friends from 6 – 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie. A funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29, at the First Baptist Church in Bowie with Mike Henson and Darrell Brown officiating. Interment will follow at Salona Cemetery.
Jean was born in Terral, OK on Feb. 11, 1936. She was the daughter of Harvey and Auda Richardson, who moved to Bowie shortly after her birth. With two brothers and three sisters, the Richardson household was a busy place. Jean always loved the outdoors; she preferred milking cows to housework. As Jean entered high school, it was apparent that she had an aptitude for sports. She loved playing basketball at Bowie High School.
During high school, she met a boy that she would later describe as the “number one” love of her life. That boy, Jake Bridgwater, would ask her to marry him in December 1954. They both believed that God had brought them together. Jake and Jean married on Sept. 21, 1956. Everyone who knew them understood that there was a special connection between them. Jean accelerated her college at North Texas so that they could graduate at the same time. They then moved back to Bowie where they would make their home for the next 55 years.
Jean joined Jake in teaching and coaching at Bowie High School. She taught physical education and health while coaching girls basketball and sponsoring the pep squad and cheerleaders. Jean was one of those special teachers and coaches that supported, loved and counseled students throughout all her 33 years in education. In 1962, she coached the Bowie girls until she had to stop teaching because she was pregnant with her first child, Tammy. That team went on to play in the state finals. Just two years later, Julie, their second daughter, was born. Jean loved to spend the summers with her husband and daughters and take trips to the mountains and camp. Jean continued to coach and work with the basketball team through all the Title IX changes. She was affectionately called “Coach B” until her retirement from coaching in 1983. She spent 11 more years teaching.
Jean was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church in Bowie. She served on numerous committees, going on mission trips and teaching her beloved Hope Sunday School Class. She and her family had countless years of perfect attendance. When her daughters had chicken pox, she even hosted a Sunday school for chicken pox kids so no one had to miss Sunday school. The family was at the church every time the doors were open. Her dedication was first and foremost to the Lord.
Her grandchildren called her “Nana.” She adored each one of her five grandchildren. She loved keeping them, nursing them when they were sick and playing anything they wanted to play. She sometimes let them win, but mostly she pushed them to be better and taught them invaluable life lessons. She loved to fix breakfast for her grandkids even if they all wanted something different. Her grandsons preferred their bacon by the pound. They truly were the light and twinkle in her eye. She also loved and treasured each one of her great-grandkids.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Jake Bridgwater; parents, Harvey and Auda Richardson; brothers, H.A. and Doyle Richardson and sister, JoAnn Stone.
Jean is survived by her daughter, Tammy Brown and husband Darrell, Colleyville; daughter, Julie Henderson and husband Steve, Wichita Falls; five grandchildren, Bethany Smith and husband Paul, Jace Brown and wife Kendall, Bryce Henderson and wife Whitney, Chase Henderson and wife McKenzie and Maddie Hendricks and husband Adam; great-grandchildren, Parker, Blakely, Jake, Mason and Andrew; sisters, Joyce May and Patsy Plaxco and a host of nieces and nephews.
The family requests memorial donations be made in Jean Bridgwater’s name to the First Baptist Church of Bowie or Hospice of Wichita Falls.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
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April 10, 1946 – September 3, 2026
BOWIE – Teddie Mae Winsett Howell, 80, died on Sept. 3, 2026.
The family received friends from 4-6 p.m. on Sept. 5 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie.
A funeral service took place at 2 p.m. on Sept. 6 at the First Methodist Church of Bowie with Reverand Jason Sutfin officiating. The burial followed at Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie.
She was born on April 10, 1946, in Bowie to James Fred (PaPa) Winsett and Iola Pearl (Ole) Reasoner Winsett. She graduated from Bowie High School in 1964. On May 21, 1965, she married Jack Howell Sr. in Bowie. She was a member of First Methodist Church of Bowie.
She is preceded in death by her father, Fred Winsett; mother, Iola Pearl Winsett; sister, Freda Pearl Winsett and a son-in-law.
Howell is survived by her beloved husband of 61 years, Jack Howell Sr.; children, Jack Howell Jr., Runaway Bay and Melissa Robinson, Bowie; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to First Methodist Church of Bowie.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
October 28, 1982 – August 28, 2026
WICHITA FALLS – Autumn Nicole Moore, 43, died on Aug. 28, 2026.
A memorial service will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 12 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie.
She was born on Oct. 28, 1982, in Bowie to Terry Greenroy and Brenda Jones.
She is preceded in death by her stepmother; son, Austin Cox; sisters, Winter Dougherty and Deb Jones; one set of grandparents and a grandfather.
She is survived by her parents, Terry Greenroy and Brenda and Marvin Jones; children, Caleb Cox, Caysen Latham, and TJ Latham; sisters, Shonda Tucker, Wendy Kerr, Brenda Ogle, and Katy Simms; four nephews; five nieces; three great-nieces; two great-nephews and a grandmother.
In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to God’s Table at 505 Strong St. Bowie or the Bowie Mission at 201 E. Greenwood St. Bowie in her honor.
Arrangements entrusted to the Whites Family Funeral Home, Bowie.
May 15, 1943 – September 5, 2026
BOWIE – William “Bill” Bernard Rogers, 83, passed away peacefully on Sept. 5, 2026 from cancer at Hospice of Wichita Falls.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 10 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie.
The funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. on Sept. 11 at the First Methodist Church of Bowie.
The burial will follow at Joy Cemetery.
Bill was born May 15, 1943, in Fresno, CA, to Bernard C. Rogers and Ruth Bernadine (Rogers) Mills.
Bill grew up in Klamath Falls, OR, graduated from Barstow High School in California in 1961 and attended Monmouth College in Oregon. He proudly served in the United States Air Force as a K-9 dog handler at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls.
Following his military service, Bill attended the Texas Game Warden Academy at Texas A&M University. He went on to serve as a Texas Game Warden for 31 years—five years in Amarillo, followed by 26 years serving Hemphill and Lipscomb counties in Canadian.
Bill was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing, especially waterfowl hunting. He carved duck decoys, crafted duck and goose calls and enjoyed collecting decoys, calls and waterfowl stamps. He was a lifetime member of Ducks Unlimited and the NRA, an Eagle Scout and a 32nd Degree Mason.
He was preceded in death by Bernard C. Rogers; Ruth Bernadine (Rogers) Mills; Harold “Rex” Mills and his aunt Arlene Rogers.
Bill is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ernestine “Tina” Seigler Rogers; three sons, Ricky and wife Melodee, Brad and wife Jill, and Chad; grandchildren, Miles Rogers (Erin), Justin Rogers, McKensie Hood (Konner), Lauren Navejar (Gilbert), Sheridan Downey (Grayson), Jaxon Rogers (Kaysie), Luke Rogers and Kypher LaMar (Kendra); great‑grandchildren, Hudson, Hays and Holt Hood, Nora and Gracie Rogers, Korbyn LaMar and Mason, and London and Kaden Navejar; sister Shirley Behnke (Bill) and their children; numerous Seigler family in‑laws, cousins of Clay County, and cousins from Nebraska and Oklahoma.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bill’s name to the American Cancer Society, the PKD Foundation (Polycystic Kidney Disease) or Hospice of Wichita Falls.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
Paid publication
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