OBITUARIES
Betty Joyce Taylor Evans
February 5, 1937 – May 13, 2023
BOWIE – Betty Joyce Taylor Evans, 86, went home to be with the Lord on May 13, 2023 in Bowie.
The family received friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on May 16 at the White Family Funeral Home in Bowie. A funeral service will take place at 10 a.m. on May 17 at the Bellevue First Baptist Church in Bellevue, where Betty attended as a young girl and she and husband Joe were married in 1955. Burial will follow the service at Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie where she will be laid to rest by her husband.
Betty was born Feb. 5, 1937 in Bellevue to Ewell and Joy (Miller) Taylor. She attended and graduated from Bellevue High School and married Joe B. Evans of Bowie on July 3, 1955 at First Baptist Church, Bellevue. Betty worked for 11 years at Hagger’s Slack Factory in Bowie before her 20 year career as a teacher’s aide at Bowie Elementary School. Betty, Joe and their family also were long time members of the First Baptist Church of Bowie.
Betty loved her family. She loved family gatherings at her house with her daughters and grandchildren for many occasions to include birthdays, Easter and Christmas. Betty loved watching her grandchildren play sports or any other activities they participated in – she was the biggest fan in the crowd. In later years she continued to watch her great-grandchildren participate in events as much as she possibly could. Betty loved listening to music, working in her flower beds, mowing and keeping her yard. In later years Betty enjoyed spending hours outside sitting on her porch, watching birds and looking at birdhouses she had painted. She loved to sit outside and just relax and have long visits with her beloved caregiver of five-and-a-half years, Shonda Ogle.
Betty is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 62 years, Joe; her parents and her brother, Bobby (Robert) Taylor of Nocona.
Betty is survived by her daughters, Chris Simpson and husband Riley, Sunset and Kim Heugatter and husband Allen, Bowie; grandchildren, Ty Evans and wife Lindsey, Granbury, Lindsay Berend and husband JD, Henrietta, Fallon Richey and husband Chase, Sunset and Sawyer Heugatter and fiancée Renee Hamilton, Lubbock and seven great-grandchildren Rance, Rylie, Leighton, Cannon, Lexi, Ridley, Braxton and new baby Finn. Betty also is survived by her sister, Carolyn Osborn and husband Larry, Lewisville and her sister-in-law, Sue Taylor, Nocona, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Central Baptist Church Kids4Truth Program via the following ways: Central Baptist Church office, account at Legend Bank or Venmo@cbcbowietx. Please notate on any donations “in memory of Betty Evans.”
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
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OBITUARIES
Steven Douglas Drury
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.
OBITUARIES
John Wayne Shelton
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.
OBITUARIES
Weldon Ray Duff
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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