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Established 1948    John "Mac" Mahaffey was born March 15, 1927 in a small non-descript town in south central Virginia, near the North Carolina border. The family moved to North Carolina and twice more during those depression years, ending up on northeastern North Carolina. John lived there until he was 16 years old. He then joined the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. He served aboard the light cruiser USS Nashville CL43. He was awarded 6 Battle Stars, 4 Invasions of the Pacific Theater, and 2 for the Philippines Liberation. During the second invasion of the Philippines, the ship unfortunately met with a Japanese Kamikaze plane which killed 130 and wounded 200 of the crew on December 13, 1944. The ship's first invasion of the Philipines was very noteworthy, that being returning General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines nation, fulfilling his promise of, "I shall return." The job situation wasn't great after World War II, especially for anyone with no skills. John re-enlisted in the Army at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Later he joined the U.S. Air Force. After a couple of schools in electronic training and a 3-year tour in Japan, he returned to Oklahoma City where he met and married Allene Louse Davis on April 5, 1952. They struggled through the hard life of the military in the 1950s. Louise got the short end of the stick. John would go on assignments which were far and wide. Louise had the job and worries of keeping up a household and raising the children. She never received any awards or medals, but she should have. Life in the military was tough, especially on the wives of servicemen. They had to manage and eke out a living on far too little pay. John would go on many remote assignments to places like Labrador, the mountains of eastern Turkey, Libya and others. The tour would be at least 12 months as each remote site. Doesn't sound like much when you read the words, but when both sides lived every day of it, the time was very piercing. In the 1950s there wasn't any help for the military families. The general population had grown cold to the military due to the lingering Cold War with Russia. The family moved lock, stock and barrel every 12 to 18 months. Not good to uproot children that often. Only once was an overseas tour to include the family, the tropical paradise of Guam....Nuff said. After retiring in February 1965 from the military, John was recruited by an up and coming electronics business, Texas Instruments. He began work in Richardson until the Sherman site was completed. Then he transferred to Sherman where the family settled and made a home in Luella. He was an electronic technician until his retirement in 1988. After his retirement from Texas Instruments, John needed a hobby to occupy his time. Now that he had a small piece of land, he tried his hand at gardening. It was hit and miss at first, but he finally succeeded. He loved the outdoors and nature, including gardening, feeding birds and wild animals, even knowing the routine and habits of the birds. John left this world loving his family on January 20, 2018. John was preceded in death by his parents, Doc Leo Mahaffey and Nancy Elizabeth Connor Mahaffey; grandson, Anthony "Tony" Cain; brothers, Leo Mahaffey and Charles Mahaffey; sisters, Undean Beale and twin sisters, Ruth Taylor and Ruby Britt. He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Allene Louise; daughters, Donna Jones and husband, Jerry, of Dorchester; Patricia Cain of Tom Bean; and Nancy Graves of Tom Bean; grandchildren, Jeremy Jones and wife, Renatta, of Bells; Tysie Jones of Dorchester; Sarah Signer and husband, Chris, of Howe; and Macy Graves of Tom Bean; great-grandchildren, Avery and Nathan Jones of Sherman; Easton Neal Jones of Bells; Joshua and Faith Signer of Howe; and numerous nieces and nephews. - - - Waldo Funeral Home  Allene Louise Mahaffey, 89, of Sherman, Texas, passed away on Thursday, November 14, 2019 at her residence in Sherman, Texas. She was born in Stephens County, Oklahoma on April 17, 1930, daughter of Robert Marvin Davis and Maudie Mae Gallatin Davis. Allene met John T. Mahaffey in Oklahoma City and they were married on April 5, 1952. He preceded her in death on January 20, 2018. Allene was an amazing home maker where she loved taking care of her family. She loved gardening, canning and cleaning, but most of all she loved spending time with her family. Allene is survived by her 3 daughters, Donna Jones and husband, Jerry; Patricia Cain and Nancy Graves; 4 grandchildren, Jeremy Jones, Tysie Jones, Sarah Signer and Macy Graves; 5 great-grandchildren, Avery Jones, Easton Neal Jones, Nathan Jones, Joshua Signer and Faith Signer. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; grandson, Tony Cain; 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Graveside services were held Wednesday morning, November 20, 2019 at Cedarlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Sherman. Arrangements were under the direction of Waldo Funeral Home in Sherman. - - - Waldo Funeral Home  Cedarlawn Cemetery Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |