DENISON - Verna Mae Allen, 82, passed away on Thursday,
Dec. 31, 2009 at Texoma Medical Center in Denison.
The Rosary service will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4 at Bratcher
Funeral Home, 401 W. Woodard St., Denison, with visitation to follow until 8
p.m. The funeral home will be open at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5 at St. Patrick
Catholic Church, 314 N. Rusk, Denison, with Fr. Stephen Mocio officiating.
Interment will follow at Georgetown Cemetery in Pottsboro.
Pallbearers will be Ronnie Schnitker, John Schnitker, Johnny Weger, Mark
Schnitker, Bob Schnitker and Curtis Clement. Honorary pallbearer will be
Brunson Choate.
Verna Mae was born on Sept. 2, 1927 in Muenster, the daughter of Joseph and
Bertha (Herr) Schnitker. Verna graduated from St. Xavier's Academy in Denison.
She married Charles Allen on June 22, 1946. She worked at Freel's Department
Store, Lilley's Department Store, Young Fashions, was a manager of Top Value
Stamps and a sales person at Janet's Fashions. She was a member of the Catholic
Daughters of America and Ladies Auxiliary to the B.P.O.E. No. 238.
Verna Mae was a superb cook and loved to have the family gathered together.
She always had words of encouragement and strength in difficult times. Her
ability to never waiver after her illness struck her was one of her amazing
gifts. She loved flowers of all kinds and would enjoy long drives and
wildflowers along the way. Her strength, courage and faith inspired and
comforted us in our own struggles through life.
She enjoyed wildlife and had a deep appreciation for the magnificent natural
landscapes. But, we think her greatest pride came from being with her family
members as she adored her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her
love and strength will be missed greatly. Her faith in God was
unwaivering.
Verna Mae is survived by her husband, Charles "Dick" Allen of
Pottsboro; children, Charles E. Allen and wife Jody of Denison, Carol Brownlee
of Denison and Mary Kathryn Conary and husband Donnie of Denison; four
grandchildren, Michelle, Stephanie, Brandy and Colby; nine great-grandchildren,
Chelsea, Grant Jr., Stephanie, Brandon, Blake, Zoe, Zaiden, Devyn and Dylan; as
well as numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents,
Joseph and Bertha (Herr) Schnitker; sister, Margaret Hughes; brothers, Alfred,
Joseph, Eugene, Clarence "Dutch" and Wilford Schnitker.
Memorials may be made in her name to the Alzheimer's Association or the
American Cancer Society.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care and direction of Bratcher Funeral
Home, 401 W. Woodard St., Denison.
Charles Richard "Dick" Allen, 86,
passed away on Friday, July 13 at
The Heart Hospital Baylor, Plano.
Richard was born on October 1, 1925, in the
Georgetown
community near the town
of Pottsboro, to Edyth
Hull and William Ernest Allen. He attended
school at Georgetown
and graduated from Denison High School
in 1942. He was raised Baptist and read the
Bible daily. He was an endowed member of the
Lone Star Masonic Lodge 403. He
married Verna Mae Schnitker June 22, 1946, who has
preceded him in death.
After graduating
from high school, Richard worked at
Perrin Air Force Base as a flight
line mechanic during World War II. He left
there and became employed in
February 1947 with Ballard &
Ballard to open the refrigerated
dough plant at
314 S. Chandler in Denison. The company was purchased in 1951 by
the Pillsbury Company and in 1962 the refrigerated
foods plant moved to FM Hwy 84 where Richard was Distribution
Manager until he retired in 1989, giving 42 years of faithful employment
to the
Pillsbury Company.
He was elected to the Georgetown
school board and became president.
As president he assisted with the development
and creation of bond elections to
build Pottsboro High
School, which had its
first graduating
class in 1967. He served as a school board member for many years after the
creation of PHS.
Richard was a life long avid hunter and fisherman. He took
numerous trips to Alaska,
Mexico,
Montana,
Colorado and
various other parts of the
U.S.
hunting and fishing. He found
especially great joy in quail hunting and training
bird dogs. For over a decade, he
maintained
a quail lease in the Texas Rolling
Plains and happily spent days at a time
following bird dogs in the hills and
canyons in pursuit of bobwhite and blue quail. He had a reputation as
an exceptional shotgun marksman. He was a Life Member of the National
Rifle Association.
His other life passion was as an amateur archaeologist,
and was very knowledgeable about the early America's indigenous people and their stone
tools with
emphasis on early Texas
history of the
Comanche and Apache Indians.
Following in the footsteps of
his nurseryman father, Richard
enjoyed gardening and created a
producing peach orchard, as well as plum and cherry trees;
and he grafted varieties of pecan trees.
He enjoyed working with his cattle herd
and raised calves for market for
over 40 years.
Richard is survived by son, Charles Edwin Allen and wife, Jody of Denison,
daughter, Carol Brownlee of Denison;
four grandchildren, Michelle Gomez, Stephanie
Rice, Brandy Humphrey, and Colby Choate;
nine great-grandchildren, Chelsea
Gomez, Grant Gomez, Stephanie Allen, Devyn Rice, Dylan Rice, Brandon
Humphrey, Blake Humphrey, Zoe Carlile and Zaiden Choate;
son-in-law, Donny Conary as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was
preceded in death by parents, Edyth
and William Ernest Allen, daughter, Mary Kathryn
"Kathy" Conary, sisters, Margaret
Jane (Allen) Parham, Lorene Beulah (Allen) Gillean, and Ruth Christine
(Allen) Dunn, brothers, Hull Forrest Allen, and William Ernest
Allen Jr.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 19, 2012 at
Georgetown
Baptist Church
with Pastor
Bobby Hancock officiating. Interment
will follow in Georgetown Cemetery. Family visitation
will be held from 6 -8 p.m.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
at Fisher Funeral Home.
Pallbearers will be Brunson Choate,
Chris Humphrey, Donnie Rice, Lonnie Brownlee, Jim Nelson, and Curtis Clement.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to
the American Heart Association , National Rifle
Association or any other charity of your choice.
Arrangements are under the direction of Fisher Funeral Home, located at 604 W. Main in Denison.