Cedarvale  - Bay City Cemetery

Courtesy of Betty Crosby
 

Samuel Robert Dickey          Ruby Rice Dickey

Mrs. S. R. Dickey

Mrs. S. R. Dickey, wife of Mr. S. R. Dickey, manager of the C. M. Ratliff business in Bay City, died at the Methodist Hospital in Houston at 5:30 a. m. July 4, and was buried here Tuesday afternoon.

Several days ago Mrs. Dickey was found to be suffering very much and when the local physicians were consulted they told her they could no nothing. In Houston the doctors said practically the same thing and decided upon an operation as one remote chance. No hope was held out for her at all and death followed the operation.

The remains were brought to Bay City and the funeral followed immediately upon arrival, Rev. Odis Rainer, Baptist minister, officiating.

Decedent was 34 years and six months of age. She was married September 14, 1912 and is survived by husband and six years old daughter. She was a member of the Christian Church.

The Tribune joins other friends and acquaintances in a sincere expression of sympathy with husband and daughter.

Matagorda County Tribune, July 8, 1927
 

Ann Dodd

 

Charles F. Ewald

Chas. W. Ewald Died Suddenly

Mr. Chas. W. Ewald, aged 69, died suddenly Thursday night while walking with some friends along the streets.

The party was bound for the carnival grounds and after walking some distance, Mr. Ewald complained of an illness and sat down to rest. He told his companions that he was ill and to send for a physician. Before the doctor could arrive, however, he was dead.

Mr. Ewald had served the tailor’s trade here for years with the A. E. Stinnett tailoring establishment.

He was a Spanish-American veteran and is survived by a sister, Mrs. T. C. Carson, of Houston.

The funeral was held in Cedarvale Cemetery.

Matagorda County Tribune, November 12, 1926
 

Lucile Isabelle Foster

Lucile Isabelle Foster

January 27, 1913 – August 10, 1920

Lucile Isabelle Foster, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. R. Foster, was born at Rock Island, Texas, Colorado County, January 27, 1913, and died of diphtheria at her home near Bay City, her parents having in the meantime moved there, where she attended school one session.

She contracted the disease and lingered one week. All that attention, love, and medical skill could do was to no avail. On August 10 she launched upon that mysterious sea that never yet has borne upon any wave the image of a returning sail, at 7:20 AM, being seven years, six months and fourteen days old. It is beyond our comprehension why death, the callboy of the soul, should pick out the buds, whose petals have never unfolded to light and life, and bear them over that borne from which no traveler e’er returns, but we do know that all who bear the image of frail mortality must have the urn broken, that death may bring it to dust.

Little Lucile, whose immortal entity, is to be constantly beheld by our loving Father, leaves to mourn her departure, and look forward to a happy reunion, where death is wiped out forever, her parents, one brother, William Newton, all of her grand parents on both sides and a host of relatives and friends. Her form was laid to rest in the Bay City Cemetery (Cedarvale Cemetery), Elder A. Jennings conducting the funeral services, speaking words of condolence, admonition, and warning.

“She has gone to join the chair invisible

Of those immortal dead who live again,

In hearts made better by their presence,

In thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars,

And with their mild persistence,

As tender lilies beneath the sheltering rock,

Urge man’s search to vaster issues.”

The Daily Tribune, August 27, 1920                                           Obituary courtesy of Susie Adkins   
 

Austen Henry Furse, Jr.

Austen Henry Furse, Jr., a Texas attorney and thirty-six year resident of Austin, died Tuesday, February 16, 2010. He was 87 years old.

Born in Fort Worth on February, 20, 1922, he was the elder son of Lillian Ann Brazile Furse and Austen H. Furse, who had emigrated from England and worked in the west Texas oil business in Eastland, Texas. It was there that Mr. Furse grew up and in 1939, graduated from high school before attending Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.

Following his post-graduate year at Andover, where his classmates continued his lasting nickname, Fuzzy, he entered Yale Universitys Class of 1944. He became an English major and a starting player on both the freshman and varsity football teams.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served as a bombardier in the Pacific theater, including the air offensives of the Philippines and Japan. For his conduct in action he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, as well as the Air Medal with six Oak Leaf clusters and the Asia-Pacific Theater Ribbon with six Bronze Stars.

Discharged as a 1st Lieutenant in late 1945, Mr. Furse returned to Yale to complete his studies and play a final season of football. He then entered the University of Texas Law School where he received his LL.B. degree and was an editor of the Law Review. In 1957 he received his Master of Laws degree from Columbia University.

After law school, he settled in Houston, where from 1950 to 1956 he was an attorney for the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company and later, an associate of Butler, Binion, Rice & Cook law firm. He also lectured on property law at the South Texas School of Law. He subsequently moved to Bay City, Texas to become a partner in the firm of Bell, Camp, Gwin & Furse. In 1967 he was elected County Judge of Matagorda County.

In 1973, Mr. Furse moved to Austin to become an Assistant Attorney General of the State of Texas and Chief of that offices Oil and Gas Division. In the course of his ten years in government, he successfully litigated numerous land and mineral cases on behalf of the state. In 1983, he became a counsel of the General Land Office of Texas.

During their life together, he and his wife, Margaret, traveled throughout the world and often participated in informal courses offered abroad. They were also avid theatergoers with as much appreciation for the American musical theater as for the works of Shakespeare.

Mr. Furse took a lifetime interest in reading the classics, in music of all kinds, in politics, and in the game of football. Quick-witted in conversation, he also had a gift for writing playful verse that delighted his family and friends.

As a result of a fall in August of 2000, he suffered a spinal cord injury, which confined him permanently to a wheelchair. Yet he managed to travel with some frequency to New York and New England to see friends and classmates.

Austen Furse is survived by his wife of 55 years, Margaret Lewis Furse, a past member of the faculties of Rice University and the University of Texas, and by four children and their spouses: Austen H. Furse III and Anne Seel Furse of Houston, John L. Furse and Susanne Nitter Furse of Boston, Jane Furse Friedman and John H. Friedman of New York City, and Mary Furse and Bill McMillin of Austin, as well as by six grandchildren.

A memorial service was held yesterday (Saturday) at the Episcopal Church of the Good Sheperd in Austin. A graveside service in Bay City is tentatively planned for April 1.

Bay City Tribune, Published February 22, 2010
 

Anthony C. Gernand

Anthony C. Gernand

Graveside services for Anthony C. Gernand, 60, of Rosenberg, were held at 11 a. m. Monday, Feb. 20, 1995, in Cedarvale Cemetery in Bay City with the Rev. Frank Garza officiating. Religious services were held at 7 p. m. Sunday, Feb. 19, 1995, at the Hernandez Funeral Home in Rosenberg.

Mr. Gernand was born June 10, 1934, in Bay City. He served in the U. S. Army and was honorably discharged. He died Feb. 15, 1995, in Memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston.

Survivors include two sons, Jerry and his wife, Rhonda Gernand of Rosenberg and Eddie Gernand of Rosenberg; two daughters, Debbie Compean of Rosenberg and Sara and Alfred Weishiemer Jr. of Richmond; three brothers, Woodrow Gernand of Bay City, Jack Gernand of North Dakota, Bill Gernand of Freeport; a sister, Rosalie Griffith of Rosenberg and six grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Hernandez Funeral Home of Rosenberg.

Daily Tribune, February 21, 1995
 

Lessie P. Graham

Funeral Services For Mrs. Lessie Graham Held Here Sunday

Funeral services for Mrs. Lessie Presley Graham, 70, were held Sunday at Taylor Brothers funeral home with the Rev. E. F. Deutsch officiating and burial in Cedarvale Cemetery.

Mrs. Graham, a pioneer citizen of Bay City, had been in ill health for several months.

Survivors are a daughter, Mrs. Louise Lowery; three sons, Jack, Presley and Sheppard Graham of Bay City; a sister, Mrs. H. M. Dahl of Yoakum; and two brothers J. R. Presley of Edna and W. H. Presley of Louise.

Matagorda County Tribune, October 14, 1948
 

G. P. "Gepe" Hardy, Jr.

G. P. “Jeep” Hardy, Jr.

Judge G. P. “Jeep” Hardy, Jr., a lifelong resident of Bay City, Texas, passed away July 8, 1988. Judge Hardy, was born May 10, 1913, in New Waverly, Texas. The son of G. P. Hardy Sr. and Rosa Hoot Hardy. Judge Hardy’s stepmother was Mable Liebold Hardy who adopted Judge Hardy in 1921. Judge Hardy graduated from Bay City High School on May 30, 1930 after having been appointed as Judge of the 130^th Judicial District Court by Gov. Buford Jester. He retired on May 1, 1983 after having served 36 years on that court. The court presided in Wharton, Matagorda, Ft. Bend and Brazoria Counties. Judge Hardy was the longest sitting District Judge in the history of the state at the time of his retirement. Judge Hardy took his oath of office on May 28, 1947. In 1983 Judge Hardy was honored with Senate Resolution No. 107 as being a role model and living legend for all practicing attorneys. After retirement Judge Hardy was appointed to preside over the South Texas Nuclear Project Litigation and was of counsel with the law firm of his son, G. P. Hardy III. Judge Hardy gradated from the University of Texas Law School in 1936 and four months later became County Attorney for Matagorda County. He served in WWII, in the Atlantic from 1943 to 1945 aboard an LCI as a Naval officer serving at both Omaha and Utah Beaches. After the war he and his wife, Susie Lou Cunningham Hardy, continued to live in Bay City and reared their five children Timothy Ann Keene, Patricia Townsend, G. P. Hardy III, Susie Lou Phillips and Melinda Horn. Judge Hardy was a member of the First Baptist Church of Bay City, Lions International, was a 32^nd Degree Mason and active in the Shriners, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign War, O. A. V., ILOOF, Eagles Lodge, Elk Lodge, Chi Phi Fraternity, American Bar Association, State Bar of Texas. Served on many committees with the State Judiary. Licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and before the Supreme Court of the United States and was a member of the Board of Directors of Bay City Bank and Trust. Judge Hardy was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Susie Lou, in March 1978. February 24, 1979 Judge Hardy married Gertrude Simpson Hardy his loving wife of 9 years. He is survived by his wife Gertrude; five children, Timothy Patricia, G. P. III, and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Hardy, Susie Lou II, Melinda and son-in-law, Hayes Horn; a step-daughter, Carol Ann Huitt and step-son-in-law, E. M. Huitt; 17 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren, and many loving nieces and nephews. Judge Hardy was loved by all. Pallbearers will be his grandsons, G. P. Hardy IV, Allen Townsend, Terry Townsend, Michael Sloan, Todd Sloan, Patrick Sloan, Jeffery Sloan and Matthew Sloan, Tommy Phillips. Honorary pallbearers are Senator Jimmy Phillips, Bert Huebner, Judge Jack Salyer, Judge Neil Caldwell, Judge Thurmond Gupton, Percy Forman,Joe? Jamail, W. James Kronzer, Clint Blackman, Vernon Leissner, Francis Savage, Galen Savage, O. B. Stanley, Joe Entzminger, Bill Humphries, Sr., Kelly Mudd, Sam Hurta, Thomas B. Weatherly, Richard Starnes, Jay Mallard, A. L. Rius-Due, James A. Smith, Hugh Harper, and members of the Matagorda County Bar Association.

Services will be held at the First Baptist Church, Bay City, Texas, Rev. Bill Baker officiating, at 4:00 p. m. July 11, 1988. Graveside services at Cedar Vale Cemetery in Bay City, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Judge G. P. Hardy Jr. Chair of Law at Saint Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas or the First Baptist Church of Bay City. Taylor Brothers Funeral Home, Bay City, Texas.

Daily Tribune, July 9 or 10, 1988
 

Gertrude Hardy
October 06, 1920 - August 24, 2019

Gertrude Ryman Hardy completed her earthly journey August 24, 2019 at the age of 98, a little over one month shy of her 99thbirthday. She was born to Eddie and Virginia Anderson Ryman October 6, 1920 near Wadsworth, TX where she grew up.

She was preceded in death by her parents, five brothers, two sisters, two step-daughters, one step-granddaughter, son-in-law E. M. Huitt, Jr., and her husband, Robert William Walker, whom she married in 1940. He passed away in an untimely accident February 1942 while stationed near Enid, Oklahoma with the Army Air Corps. In 1979 she married G. P. Hardy, Jr. and spent nine wonderful years with him before his passing in July 1988.

She is survived by her daughter Carol Ann Walker Huitt, granddaughter Melissa Huitt and her husband James Broaddus, Jr. along with his children and grandchildren, granddaughter Donna Huitt, great-grandson Dustin Peterson and his wife Teri, great-granddaughter Emilee Peterson, sister Rosemary Armstrong, the children of G. P. Hardy Jr.—G. P. Hardy, III and his wife Sandra, Susie Hardy Long and her husband Robert, and Melinda Hardy Horn—and all of their children.

Gertrude was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Bay City, where she served as an elder and simultaneously shared the honor with a fellow congregational member of being elected the first women officers of the church. She was very active in the community in which she lived and loved, working with a number of organizations throughout the years including the Bay City Chamber of Commerce where she was elected as the first woman Chamber President in 1978 and the Chamber Woman of the Year in 1966, American Legion Auxiliary, Pilot Club, American Cancer Society, Flora Luncheon Garden Club, Bay City Book Review, Keep Bay City Beautiful, Bay City Main Street Program, and the Board of Directors of the Bay City Country Club where she served as the first woman president of that organization.  She also owned and operated Gertrude Hardy and Associates Insurance Agency until her retirement in 1984. She purchased the business from W. T. Cox, who gave her the opportunity to start her career in December 1941.

“I would like to express my thanks and deep appreciation to all my loyal friends and clients who made all my successes possible.” Gertrude Hardy

Pallbearers are Dustin Peterson, James Broaddus, Jr., Gary Ryman, Bruce Verdecanna, George Hardy IV, and Tommy Phillips. Honorary Pallbearers are G.P. Hardy, III, Clyde Workman, Cecil Davis, and Richard Knapik. 

Visitation will be held at Taylor Bros. Funeral Home Tuesday, August 27, 2019 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Funeral services will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Bay City Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at 11:00 AM.  A private graveside service will follow at Cedarvale Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bay City Main Street Planter Beautification Program, 1112 7th Street, Bay City, Texas in her honor.

Taylor Bros. Funeral Home, Bay City Tribune, August 28, 2019         Photo courtesy of Faye Cunningham