Grayson County TXGenWeb

Nat H. L. Decker
1854 - 1934

Corrilla W. Decker
1855 - 1931

Denison Daily Herald
Tuesday, April 17, 1934

Last Rites for N. H. L. Decker To Be Held Here Wednesday

Nathaniel H. L. Decker, 79 years old, prominent North Texas attorney and a resident of Denison more than a half century, died Monday morning at
5 o'clock at the Denison City Hospital after six days of suffering from injuries received Tuesday night of last week at the intersection of Mirick Avenue and Chestnut Street, a few doors form his home.
Taken to the hospital in a partially unconscious condition, Mr. Decker launched a determined battle against death rallying several times but never completely emerging from the coma that clouded his mind. Concussion of the brain was blamed by the attending physician for his death. Mr. Decker suffered his last relapse Saturday and lost ground steadily over the weekend, with hope for his recovery abandoned.
Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at George Shields funeral home with Rev. Homer T. Fort, pastor of Waples Memorial Methodist Church, and Rev. Gerald L. Miller, First Christian Church pastor, as the officiants.
Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery beside the body of his wife. Judge J. F. Holt of Sherman, a long acquaintance of Mr. Decker, will speak during the rites. Pallbearers will be Roy M. Finley, C.C. Cooper, Grover Ditto, A.P. Wood, Leo Murphy, and J.H. Randall. The body will lie in state at the funeral home until time for the services.

Born in Kentucky
Mr. Decker, a lawyer of the old school who achieved his professional standing through personal sacrifice and struggle, was born at Owensboro, Ky., Dec. 28, 1854, the son of William H. and Mary Catherine Horn Decker.
After preliminary schooling, Mr. Decker, known to hundreds of North Texas citizens as Colonel Decker, began studying in an Owensboro law office, being obliged to divide his time between teaching school five months of the year and working on a farm as well.
He was assisted by two school mates, J. J. Sweeney and Robert Fry, with his studies, and at the same time drew up documents and filed papers in the line of general office work. In gaining admission to the bar, Mr. Decker and his two companions were subjected to a three-day examination in open court by a committee appointed by the Kentucky Bar Association.
Was School Teacher
Passing the examination successfully, Mr. Decker practiced some as an attorney and taught two years in the Owensboro High School and one year in West Tennessee, where G. T. Harris, the man destined to be his only law partner, went to school to him and studied law.
Coming to Texas in August of 1880, Mr. Decker launched a career that won him wide prominence over North Texas, especially as a civil attorney high skilled in land matters. Mr. Harris came to Texas and was associated with Mr. Decker until the former's death in June of 1896, after which Mr. Decker never acquired a new partner.
Upon his Kentucky license, Mr. Decker was permitted to practice law in the district court at Grayson County under Judge Joseph Bledsoe, and during his more than a half century was active in Denison, Sherman, and other Texas points in his profession. His office is on the second floor of the State National Bank building where it has been located a number of years.

Had Active Career
Mr. Decker's aggressive enthusiasm carried him into political and civic affairs on an active basis. He served as a member of the city commission and was a member of the committee drafting the city charter when the present commission form of government was adopted.
He also served as city attorney for a while and was a member of the city school board. He was the Denison attorney for the Katy railroad for thirty years, and was instrumental in building Randell Lake and the Rod and Gun Club Lake.
Mr. Decker was married to Miss Corrilla Wilson of near Owensboro, Ky., on Sept. 3, 1888. She died in Denison Dec. 12, 1931. The Decker home is at 618 West Chestnut Street.
As a young man in his native Owensboro, Mr. Decker was received into the Methodist Church. In Denison he gained something of a reputation as a philanthropist and ruggedly adhered to the ethics of his profession.
Surviving are one brother, W. H. Decker, Fresno, Cal.; four sisters, Mrs. Martha F. Graham, Owensboro; Mrs. Emma Buchanan, Frederick, Okla.; Mrs. B. B. Hite, Sherman [TX]; and Mrs. G. N. Wilson, Denison; and several nieces and nephews.