Wilma Capps passes away Feb. 17

Wilma Hodge Capps, 83, of Salado, passed away Feb. 17, 2007.

Services were held Feb. 19 in the Historic Chapel of the Salado United Methodist Church, with Rev. Grady Brittain and Rev. Joe Bentley officiating.

Burial followed in Salado Cemetery.

She was born June 10, 1923, in Prairie Dell, TX, to Robert and Mae Street Hodge. She married Clyde Capps on Nov. 7, 1942 in Belton. Their 64 years of marriage were spent in Salado, where she was a homemaker, rancher, life-long member of Salado United Methodist Church and a Yellow Bird volunteer for Scott & White Hospital.

Survivors include her husband, Clyde Capps, of Salado; brother, John Robert Hodge and wife Tina Lee Hodge, of Menard; two daughters, Elizabeth Foster, of Houston, and Virginia Cosper and husband Cecil Cosper, of Salado; three grandchildren, Lanna Domangue and husband Scott Domangue, of Austin, Janna Russell and husband Chris Russell, of Houston, and Jenny Medlin and husband Jason Medlin, of Salado; six great-grandchildren, Derek Russell, Taylor Domangue, Collin Russell, Nicole Domangue, Colby Medlin and Trace Medlin.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Salado United Methodist Church Building Fund, 650 Royal St., Salado, TX 76571.

Peggy Bonner passed away Feb. 6

Peggy Taylor Bonner, 88, of Salado, formerly of Temple, passed away Feb. 6, 2007 in a local hospital. Graveside services were held Feb. 8 at Hillcrest Cemetery.

She was born April 29, 1918 in Winnsboro to Wood County pioneers Horace C. and Mattie (Stanley) Taylor. She graduated from Winnsboro High School in 1936, and from the Scott & White School of Professional Nursing in 1940.

She married Jamie P. Bonner in 1940 and belonged to the First Christian Church of Temple for 70 years.

During World War II she worked for the American Red Cross in Norfolk, VA. She also worked in hospitals in Newport News, VA, Hollywood, FL, San Francisco and Los Angeles as a staff nurse. She held various offices in the Christian Women’s Fellowship and served as deaconess on the church board.

She worked with Temple Family Services, was a member of Texas State Teacher’s Association, the Scott & White Memorial Hospital School of Professional Nursing Alumni Association, and was chairman of School Health Section in the Texas State Teacher’s Association for three years for Temple public schools. She had post graduate courses in Public and School Health. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Jamie P. Bonner, Sr., and granddaughter, Kimberly R. Bonner, of Salado.

She is survived by son, Jamie P. Bonner, Jr., and daughter-in-law, Phyllis M. Bonner, of Salado; sister, Martha LaVerne Kraft, of Fircrest, WA; brother, H. Charles Taylor, of Athens; nephew, Dr. Charles Taylor, of Houston; nieces, Karen Kraft, of Newport News, VA, and Gail Brian, of Fircrest, WA; granddaughters, Jackie Bell Dezern and Marci Brentham, both of Salado; great-grandsons, Tanner Myers and Maddux Hunter Dezern, both of Salado; great-granddaughters, Baylee Bell and Chloe Brentham, both of Salado; and great-grandson, Cole Brentham, of Salado.

Memorials may be made to the First Christian Church of Temple or Scott & White Memorial Hospital. HarperTalasek Funeral Home in Temple handled arrangements.

R.L . Peters passes away Feb. 3

R.L. Peters passed away in a Rockwell hospital Feb. 3, 2007. A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Feb. 10 at the Salado Church of Christ. Services will be conducted by son-in-laws Dwight Parker, of Grandfield, OK, and Clyde Smith, of Rockwall, nephew Tim Brown, of Salado, ministers Joe Keyes, of Salado, and Gene Greer, of Heidenheimer, and daughter Linda Smith, of Rockwall.

A private interment will be conducted at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery.

R.L. was the oldest of four children born to Irl and Roxy (Graham) Peters on March 31, 1921 in Moody. He grew up in Lorenzo and Rogers, where he graduated high school.

He served in the U.S. Naval Air Force from 1942-1950. He later received a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech and a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

He worked in Air Force Logistics for 20 years, re-tiring in 982. He was honored by President Lyndon Johnson with Presidential Citation in 1964 for out-standing job performance. He served as a Bell County Commissioner and as an election official. He received the first Pioneer Award given by the Bell County Republican Party.

He was an active member of the Church of Christ, and served as a deacon in three different communities, and as an elder. He was involved in Christian education, serving as a Trustee of Magic Valley Christian College in Albion, ID.R.L. served as a member of the Bell County Historical Commission; Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of the Republic of Texas and Sons of Confederate Veterans.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Eva, three daughters, Annette Parker of Grandfield, OK, Dorothy Peters, of Mesquite, and Linda Smith, of Rockwall; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild; sisters MaryBelle Brown, of Salado, and Lou Nelle Merritt of St. Catherins, Ontario.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, Billie, and a nephew, Dr. Stephen Merritt.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Peters-Merritt Memorial Scholarship Fund for Research of Tropical Diseases at Texas A&M Foundation, 401 Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840.

Sarah “Sibby” Ashe Slaton memorial Feb. 3

Sarah “Sibby” Ashe Slaton passed away Jan. 24, 2007.

She was born to Dr. William and Patricia Ashe on Aug. 2, 1954 at Camp LeJeune, NC. She attend-ed elementary school at Salado. She later attended Temple Buell College in Denver, and Texas A&M University.

She is survived by husband Dwight Slaton; sons, Samuel and John of Conifer, CO; sisters, Sue Wetsel, of Pagosa Springs, CO, and Kay Wood, of Fort Worth; brother, William Ashe, Jr., of Dallas; and her parents.

A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. Feb 3 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Chapel in Belton.

Family and friends will gather at the Ashe residence. Directions will be provided.

Memorials may be made at www.susande-witt.com or www.lung-canceralliance.org.

Stowell passes away Jan. 8

Long-time New Orleans resident and native of Salado, Joe Ann Berry Stowell, died Jan. 8, 2007 after a long illness. She was 76.

Stowell graduated from the University of Houston summa cum laude in three years.
She moved to New Orleans to start her own secretarial pool. After marrying and bearing two children, she returned to her position as manager of the New Orleans law firm Tucker and Schonekas. During her tenure, the firm built a successful case against one of New Orleans’ most prominent organized crime figures.

Stowell was an avid sportswoman, and sang in the a capella group the Sweet Adelines.

She was a member of the board of trustees of St. George’s Episcopal School in New Orleans and was a member of the vestry at St. George’s Episcopal Church.

She and her husband moved to Salado following Hurricane Katrina. This marked a return to her birthplace after more than 50 years.

She is survived by her husband, Colles C. Stowell; daughter, Joni Carpenter; son Colles C. Stowell, Jr.; sisters Barbara Sewell and Marla Sanders; brother Sonny Berry; two granddaughters, Emily and Hannah Schwartz; and dozens of cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The funeral was held Jan. 20 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Belton. Interment will occur in Lancaster, NH in the spring.

Dr. Welborn Kiefer Willingham, 78, of Salado, Texas, died Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007, after a brief illness.

Willingham, known as “Will” by his many friends, patients and colleagues, was born March 12, 1928, in Fisher County, Texas. He was the son of W.B. Willingham and Madge Eason Willingham.

A 1949 graduate of Texas Tech University, Willingham received a Masters degree at The University of Texas and a Ph.D. at Tech. As an undergraduate, Willingham was sophomore class president, a member of and first pledge trainer of Saddle Tramps, Tech’s spirit organization, and a member of Socii Fraternity which later became Sigma Nu.

After a brief stint as an officer in the United States Air Force, from which he retired in later years as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Reserves, Willingham spent most of his working life in academia. He was a professor in the Department of Education at Texas Tech, an adjunct professor at Tech’s medical school, and retired with the distinction of Professor Emeritus.

A practicing psychologist, Willingham founded a counseling center in Lubbock. He was an active member of the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology, in which organization he was a delegate and leader for many years. He founded that association’s Graduate Student Forum and served as its director, encouraging many young people in the profession.

In recent years Willingham enjoyed his retirement, while overseeing his ranching interests in Fisher and Scurry Counties.

On Aug. 14, 1950, he married a Lubbock native, Maxine McCollum, following a campus romance. After his Air Force tour of duty, University of Texas studies and a brief period in Hale Center, as the youngest school principal in the state at that time, they made their home in Lubbock, where they raised their family.

In 2006, they relocated to Salado, where they had built a vacation home. Willingham’s ancestors were early settlers in Salado.

Will is survived by his wife of 56 years, Maxine; his three children: Sharon Willingham Harris of Garland, Dr. Douglas B. Willingham of Salado, and Sheila Willingham McBeth of Sarasota, Florida. He is also survived by six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Private graveside services were held Jan. 15, 2007 at the Willingham Cemetery in Salado, officiated by the Rev. Thomas A. Wallace, Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Belton.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to one’s charity of choice.

H.A. “Bud” Schenkel passes away Dec. 31

H.A. Bud Schenkel, of Salado, died Dec. 31, 2007 in a local nursing home.

A resident of Salado since 1977, Schenkel was born in 1930 in Dallas.

He attended Highland Park High School, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War.

He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1958, and was employed by Texas Instruments until 1985, when he retired to enter private business. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Mary Phillips Schenkel; three children, Catherine Sheffer and husband Ron, of Salado, Karen Kacir and husband Karl, of Rogers, Robert Schenkel, of Flagstaff, AZ; eight grandchildren, Ryan and Amy Scheffer, Rachel, Rebecca, Joshua and Erin Pursche, and Julia and Stuart Schenkel.

He was laid to rest Jan. 3, 2007 in Dallas with a private family graveside service.