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Born in Bowie, Montague County, Texas, she was the daughter of James W. and Annie Lee Fincher, who were the parents of 11 children--seven boys and four girls. A Palacios resident since 1942, Mrs. Koontz attended country school at Rock Hill, Texas, in the same building that housed her father and mother when they were seeking an education. She went to work for S. H. Kress Company in Wichita Falls while still in her teens. But the independence of "her own business" called and Mrs. Koontz entered the millinery business when 17 years of age. She was an employee of K. Wolen Department Stores at Corsicana. Mrs. Koontz moved to Graham, Texas and went to work for P. A. Boaz and Co., here she met J. E. Koontz and married him in 1926. Mr. Koontz and his partner, J. C. Matkin, owned and operated two barber shops in Graham. In 1930, Mr. and Mrs. Koontz came to south Texas and bought a barber shop at Old Gulf. They stayed there five years before venturing into the restaurant business as partners in the "White House Cafe" of Bay City with Mr. and Mrs. Walter S. Gillette. They opened a cafe in Aransas Pass in 1939 known as "The Railto" also operated a cafe in Refugio. When Camp Hulen was opened at Palacios, the Koontzes and Gillettes purchased "The Sea Food Grill" from Ellen Flippen. The Koontzes sold out to the Gillettes and took over as managers of the cafeteria at Camp Hulen. After Hulen closed, Mr. and Mrs. Koontz, along with C. H. Koontz, opened the Koontz Brothers fruit and vegetable store, then the K. & D. Fruit Market, and the K. & M. Super Market in Palacios, which they sold to H. C. Lewis. They later opened a drive-in grocery at the site of the present "Y" Cafe before going back into the restaurant business. Mr. Koontz died suddenly in the cafe in 1954. So Mrs. Koontz started out in a business of her own in 1922 and now, following the death of her husband, she is welcoming the responsibilities of management, and is still operating her own business.
Palacios Beacon, November 29, 1956 |
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Y Cafe  Palacios Beacon, November 21, 1957 - Courtesy of the Holsworth Family Archives
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Funeral services will be held at 2 p. m. Thursday (today) for James Ernest Koontz at the Palacios Funeral home conducted by Rev. Rayford Harris. Mr. Koontz, son of Mrs. Martha Koontz and the late J. B. Koontz was born November 9, 1890 in Mullinsville, Kansas. He died suddenly at his place of business the Y. Cafe, Tuesday evening. He and his wife had been residents of Palacios for the past fourteen years. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Pearl Koontz; his mother, Mrs. Martha Koontz; three sisters, Lydia Williams of Thompson, Ida Gladden of Velasco and Vernie Gilliam of Freeport; and one brother, C. H. Koontz of Harrison, Arkansas.
Palacios Beacon, October 21, 1954 |
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BOWIE - Pearl Fincher Fields, 93, a retired
restaurant owner, died Monday, Oct. 6, 1997, in Bowie.
Fort Worth Star Telegram, October, 1997 |
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Funeral services for Raymond E. Fields, 82, of Palacios were held Feb. 1 at Palacios Taylor Brothers Funeral Home with Rev. Leon Maxwell and Rev. J. R. Gwin officiating. Masonic graveside services followed at Hawley Cemetery in Blessing. Masons served as pallbearers. Fields died Jan. 31. He was a resident of Palacios for over 20 years and a member of the Masonic Lodge. Survivors include: wife, Pearl Fincher Fields of Palacios; sons, Raymond Fields Jr. of Abilene, Tommy Fields of Desperes, Mo.; brother, Ted Fields of Palacios; and five grandchildren.
Palacios Beacon, February 4, 1981 |
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By the death of J. B. Koontz Tuesday afternoon, Palacios loses another pioneer and highly respected citizen.
In 1905 Mr. Koontz moved his family to Texas and 21 years ago located at Palacios which has been his home since. He was a member of the Lutheran Church from early childhood, the teachings of which was exemplified in his daily life.
For a number of years he has lived on Pavilion Street just outside the city limits where he spent his time raising truck, fruit and flowers, in which he was very successful and took great pride. A devoted companion and father, kind neighbor and thoughtful friend has passed to the land beyond from which no traveler returns.
Funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon from the Palacios Funeral Home with Rev. W. B. Gummelt, of Edna, pastor of the Lutheran church officiating. Burial was made in the Palacios Cemetery.
To the bereaved wife, sons, Clarence and Ernest Koontz, of Palacios, daughters, Mrs. Stacy Gilliam, of Damon, Mrs. Charley Williams and Mrs. R. M. Gladden of Thompsons, and wither relatives we extend our deepest sympathy.
Palacios Beacon, April 17, 1941 |
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Funeral services for Mrs. Martha Ann Koontz were held at 4 p. m. Monday, October 15, at the Palacios Funeral Home with Rev. Reinhold conducting the last rites. Burial was in the Palacios Cemetery.
Mrs. Koontz, daughter of John and Lydia Reynolds was born April 10, 1865 in Pennsylvania. She was married to James B. Koontz in Virginia and they were the parents of three daughters and two sons. She was preceded in death by her husband in March 1941 and a son, J. E. in October 1954.
Mr. and Mrs. Koontz moved to Palacios from Arkansas in 1920 and built their home on Fourth Street, where she lived until a few years ago when she moved to a rest home in Clute, Texas. Here she died Friday night. She became a member of the Lutheran Church when 18 years old and was a faithful member of her church.
She is survived by three daughters, Mrs. Ida Gladden of Velasco, Mrs. Vernie Gilliam of Freeport and Mrs. Lydia Williams of Thompson; one son, Clarence H. Koontz of Harrison, Arkansas; 10 grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.
Palacios Beacon, October 18, 1956 |
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Private family memorial services for Clarence Henry Koontz, 82, were held recently in Palacios.
Koontz, a resident of Palacios for the past 14 years, was born Sept. 6, 1901 in Mullensville, Kan., and died Nov. 2, 1983 in a Victoria hospital He was the son of the late James Buchanan Koontz and Martha Anne Reynolds Koontz. A former resident of Harrison, Ark., he was a farmer, and was a member of the Methodist Church.
Survivors include two sons, Clarence H. Koontz of Boutte, La., and James B. Koontz of Louisville, Tenn.; a sister, Ida Gladden of Freeport; 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.
Palacios Beacon, November 9, 1983 |
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Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Vic Koontz of 208 Rorem St., Palacios, were held Saturday, September 3 at 4 p. m. in the First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Carl L. W. Israel officiating. Burial was in the Palacios Cemetery.
Daughter of the late J. W. and Jenny Campbell Belknap, she was born June 30, 1895, in Goldfield, Iowa. A resident of Palacios since 1909, she was a member of the First United Methodist Church and of 1912 graduating class of Palacios High School. She died early Friday morning, September 2, in Champ Traylor Hospital in Port Lavaca after an illness of many months.
She is survived by her husband, Clarence H. Koontz; one daughter, Martha Jeanne Dyer, both of Palacios; two sons, Clarence Koontz of Seadrift and Jimmy Koontz of Palacios; one sister, Miss Besse Belknap of Palacios; one brother, Blanchard Belknap of Tulsa, Okla.; 12 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Palacios Beacon, September 8, 1977 |
Large
families were the style around the turn of the century, and Mrs.
Pearl Koontz's family was no exception.
